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…
Accountable care organizations were among the key initiatives of the Affordable Care Act, designed to help control soaring Medicare costs. ACOs were expected to save the government nearly $5 billion by 2019, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It hasn’t come anywhere close. On Thursday, the Trump administration proposed an overhaul to the program, which…
For many years we have heard health care policymakers from both political parties opine about the need to move to a health care system that pays for the value of care delivered to patients, rather than the mere volume of services. While disagreements may arise on how we get to value, the need for this…
There are now more than 335 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) in 47 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. Early results show that most Medicare ACOs are succeeding at meeting their quality benchmarks, but only about a quarter of MSSP participants have been able to reduce their spending enough…
If you’re scratching your head about the direction of Value-Based Health Care (VBHC) in Medicare, you’re not alone. The current mix includes a swirl of separate initiatives, some new and others recently re-labeled. As CMS pushes toward VBHC, providers may feel confused and frustrated as concepts emerge that will affect multiple programs. Within the last…
Accountable care organizations, are a new organization of healthcare, combining some aspects of insurance and health systems. They are collaborations which are paid a capitated rate, based on risk, and provide all care to these beneficiaries. If they show savings beyond what they are paid, they receive about half as an “incentive.” Savings cannot be…
Medicare’s bundled payment programs are in an opportune position to produce additional savings and create a more cost-effective public payer program with certain revisions, a new white paper from USC Brookings explains. CMS’s current bundled payment programs would achieve greater cost effectiveness by extending acute hospital reimbursement and hospital-based bundled payment episodes, argued John A….
A group of doctors on Thursday said they have the path forward to help the CMS launch a direct provider contracting (DPC) model. America’s Physician Groups, an association of medical groups, submitted a so-called “third option” proposal, where a provider network would receive Medicare funds up front to manage their patients’ care. The suggestion came…
Payers striving to compete in the Medicare Advantage (MA) market can add more value to their health plans by taking advantage of regulatory changes established under a new final rule. Starting in plan year 2019, payers can offer a greater variety of Medicare Advantage plans with more variation of health benefits, specialized cost-sharing designs, and…
Dive Brief: Provider organizations are urging CMS to allow Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) to continue for three more years without taking on financial risk. Under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), ACOs that began in 2012 or 2013 face their third contract period in 2019 and will have to move from Track 1 to…