I’m not opposed to ACOs, but I am uneasy. Like maybe, one out of three cheers.
I see the ACO project as really the centerpiece of the healthcare policy establishment’s program for the nation in terms of cost control and that primacy is undeserved.
One of the main purposes, and maybe the key purpose, of ACOs is to save money. That’s the aspect of ACOs this comment is directed to.
A few things about them make me queasy:
Limited evidence of significant savings, though granted some ACOs after many years of investment are getting weak to moderate results.
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
On November 20, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule “Modernizing and Clarifying the Physician Self-Referral Regulations” (Final Rule). HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan described the new rules as “historic reforms, and come as part of the regulatory sprint to coordinated care …“ The new rules give great flexibility for providers to participate in value-based payment (VBP) and care delivery models, and to provide coordinated care for patients. The Final Rule is aimed at reducing regulatory barriers to care coordination and accelerating the transformation of the healthcare delivery system into one that rewards value instead of volume. HHS describes the new Stark exceptions to encourage four key improvements in healthcare delivery: