CMS Names 89 New Medicare Shared Savings Accountable Care Organizations

CMS recently announced the selection of 89 additional Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to participate in the Medicare Shared Saving Program. The selected organizations will take responsibility for coordinating care for nearly 1.2 million beneficiaries in 40 States and Washington, D.C. In total, there now are 154 organizations participating in Medicare shared savings initiatives. All ACOs that succeed in reducing the rate of growth in the cost of care while providing high quality care may share in the savings to Medicare. To ensure high quality of care, ACOs will report performance on 33 measures relating to care coordination and patient safety, use of appropriate preventive health services, improved care for at-risk populations, and patient and caregiver experience of care. Participation in an ACO is purely voluntary for providers.