An accountable care organization is a group of health care providers with collective responsibility for patient care that helps providers coordinate services—delivering high-quality care while holding down costs.
The theory behind ACOs is that well-coordinated care can improve health care quality while decreasing duplication of services, reducing the risk of errors and complications, and lowering costs. This brief provides an overview of ACOs.
Will this new approach to health care delivery live up to the dual promises of reducing costs and improving quality? This Health Policy Brief provides an overview of ACOs, their origins, and the current status of adoption by Medicare and private health insurance plans.
In this Health Affairs article, authors propose a new approach to help achieve more integrated and efficient care by fostering local organizational accountability for quality and cost through performance measurement and “shared savings” payment reform.
ACOs are designed to transform how health care is delivered by sharing financial awards among providers if they realize savings in health care spending. This review published in the BNA Health Care Policy Report takes a look at regulatory policy statements related to the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
RWJF provided formal comments to CMS on the proposed rule for the new Medicare Shared Savings Program for ACOs. These comments included the recommendation to look to existing regional alliances as key partners in payment reform for a given market.
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September 17, 2012 | Feature/Topic
Browse research, insight and analysis on key issues affecting health and health care in the United States.
March 22, 2013 | Human Capital Blog Post
This is the first in a series of essays, reprinted from the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics’ eMagazine, in which scholars who attended the recent AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference reflect on the experience.
April 11, 2012 | Journal Article
A new initiative of the Affordable Care Act known as accountable care organizations, received final rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
November 14, 2011 | Issue Brief
The final rule for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) received positive reactions, but what's next? These resources from RWJF and its grantees take a look at the final rule and consider where ACOs go from here.
March 16, 2010 | Issue Brief
A new brief from the George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services examines the debate around creating accountable care organizations (ACOs) to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients.
July 27, 2010 | Issue Brief
The Affordable Care Act authorizes Medicare to contract with accountable care organizations, networks of physicians and other providers that would work together to improve quality of health care services and reduce costs for patients.
October 9, 2012 | Issue Brief
Insurers and regulators worry that Accountable Care Organizations could reduce competition and drive up prices for Medicare patients.
June 1, 2011 | Journal Article
Today's strategy for improving the health care system, accountable care organizations (ACOs) shift economic responsibility from insurers to physicians. This review points out the clear distinction between ACOs and the managed care system of the 1990s.
January 19, 2011 | Commentary
Short hospital stays, rehospitalizations and transitions among health care settings have become increasingly common. Financial policy changes should be implemented to incentivize longer hospital stays and better-coordinated post-discharge care.
August 1, 2010 | Issue Brief
In this policy brief, Fuchs discusses a value-added tax (VAT) that could be dedicated to funding basic health care for all through enrollment in accountable care organizations and help solve the revenue, and health spending problems, at the same time.
December 1, 2011 | Issue Brief
ACOs represent a significant shift from a health care payment system that largely rewards volume of services, rather than value.