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While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes to make some of the most significant changes to its accountable care organization (ACO) model since it was finalized in 2011, it doesn’t appear that such updates will have a lasting impact on the broader skilled nursing industry.
If anything, only operators with their own physician group may be able to form their own ACO more easily, according to ATI Advisory Managing Director Fred Bentley. The ability to qualify for advanced savings and a slower transition to taking downside risk, in addition to the usual upside risk associated with ACOs, could lure more SNF participation, he said.
“It starts to tip the scale a little further in terms of or making it that much more enticing to join,” added Bentley. “I think there are a subset of long-term care organizations that are interested in doing more than just partnering, which really to date has not been a winning proposition.”