Affordable Care Act gives providers new options to better coordinate health care

CMS announced three Affordable Care Act initiatives designed to help doctors, hospitals and other health care providers improve health care for Americans with Medicare by becoming Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). First, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) will support a new ACO model that will be available to providers this summer ñ the Pioneer ACO Model, which is designed for advanced organizations ready to participate in shared savings. It is projected to save Medicare up to $430 million over three years by better coordinating patient care. Second, the Innovation Center is seeking comment on the idea of an Advance Payment ACO Model that would provide additional up-front funding to providers to support the formation of new ACOs. And third, provider groups interested in learning more about how to coordinate patient care through ACOs can attend free new Accelerated Development Learning Sessions. These initiatives are part of a broader effort by the Obama Administration, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, to improve care and lower costs.