Accountable Care Organization Performance Results

2016 was the fifth performance year for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). 2016 brought $652 million in savings to Medicare via Accountable Care Organizations, according to the Health Care Transformation Task Force. The Shared Savings Program offers providers and suppliers (e.g., physicians, hospitals, and others involved in patient care) an opportunity to create a new type of health care entity, an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). An ACO agrees to be held accountable for the quality, cost, and experience of care of an assigned Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiary population. The Shared Savings Program has different tracks that allow ACOs to select an arrangement that makes the most sense for their organization. Roughly one-third of MSSP ACOs generated savings in 2016, according to CMS data. In terms of quality, 330 of the 428 ACOs subject to pay-for-performance measures earned an average quality score of 94 percent. Ninety-eight of the ACOs garnered a 100 percent quality score. Overall, the average performance score improved by more than 10 percent across five measures: screening for fall risk, depression screening and follow-up, high blood pressure screening and follow-up, hemoglobin checks for diabetic patients, and diabetes eye exams. ACOs that have been in MSSP since 2012 and 2013 accounted for $503 million in gross savings. The newer the participants, the less money they saved: ACOs that entered in 2014 saved $94 million, 2015 ent...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs