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Accountable care organizations (ACOs) need better communication to explain how they are helping Medicare patients achieve better health at a better overall cost.
The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) and the Health Care Transformation Task Force published “Reimagining Beneficiary Engagement in Accountable Care Models.” The white paper outlines how ACOs, the longest-standing alternative payment model (APM) in U.S. health care, can educate patients and correct misconceptions about “accountable care” and “value-based care.”
“ACOs also offer an important opportunity to address current health care delivery inequities, having demonstrated reducing racial and ethnic disparities in care and better serving rural and underserved communities,” the white paper said. “Yet, patients in ACOs or other APMs often are unaware of their inclusion in models and the benefits they provide. Additionally, the success of ACOs and APMs has overly focused on cost savings and not on improved beneficiary outcomes.”