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ACOs continued to grow in size and count in 2017 and early 2018, according to an analysis from Leavitt Partners and the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative.
Here are four findings from their report, published in Health Affairs.
1. There were 1,477 ACO contracts at the end of the first quarter of 2018, spread among 1,011 ACOs. Contract counts include both public and private payer partnerships, and an ACO may have contracts with multiple payers. A total of 232 new ACOs were created in 2017 and the first quarter of 2018.
2. Forty-eight percent of ACO contracts are commercial, compared to 46 percent for Medicare. Medicaid accounts for just 5 percent of all contracts. However, Medicaid contracts tend to be much larger in terms of lives covered. The average Medicaid ACO covers 43,500 patients. Comparatively, the average commercial ACO covers 24,300 lives, and the average Medicare ACO covers 17,500.