“Just 53 new accountable care organizations joined the Medicare Shared Savings program for the Jan. 1 start date, which is significantly less new entrants compared to previous years…”
“The National Association of ACOs blames the changes to the Medicare ACO program for the recent drops in participation. In late 2018, the CMS finalized an overhaul of the program that requires ACOs to take on downside financial risk sooner after years where most organizations were risk averse…”
“Although 16% of ACOs left the program in 2019, more than 40% of those participants will be in a different ACO this year, according to CMS Administrator Seema Verma in a Health Affairs blog post. About 11.2 million Medicare beneficiaries are assigned to an ACO, which is higher than last year when 10.4 million were covered.”
“Additionally, more ACOs joining the program are choosing to take on downside financial risk, Verma said…” Read the full article here.
Source: Participants continue to drop out of Medicare ACO program – By Maria Castellucci, January 10, 2020. Modern Healthcare.
