government
89 ACOs added to Medicare shared savings program
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 23, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services named 89 more groups formed by physicians, hospitals and other health professionals to participate in Medicare’s accountable care organization program.
The ACOs began serving 1.2 million beneficiaries in 40 states and the District of Columbia on July 1. The program allows teams of physicians and hospitals to coordinate patient care and share in savings when total health spending is contained.
Five of the newest ACOs agreed to participate in a two-sided risk model, which levies penalties for failing to keep health spending below targets but also provides higher bonuses for achieving savings. The other groups will not share risk, but will receive lower bonuses when their organization saves the program money.
CMS announced the first 27 ACO participants in April. More than 400 organizations have submitted notices to apply for the program in 2013, CMS Deputy Administrator Jon Blum said. The Medicare agency estimates that the initiative could save up to $1 billion over four years.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/07/23/gvbf0723.htm.
