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Encouraging physicians and hospitals to come together to form Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to serve fee-for-service Medicare patients is a key cost control and quality improvement feature of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In an ACO, independent providers form integrated delivery systems to offer more efficient care for a defined population of patients. Many policy-makers hope Medicare ACOs will increase care coordination and spur the expansion of these collaborations in the private market.
- ACOs are promising vehicles for delivering health care more efficiently, but some insurers and regulators worry they could reduce competition and drive up prices.
- Regulators outlined final criteria for judging whether a Medicare-qualified ACO is anti-competitive in the private market. They also cautioned ACOs against certain practices that could be anti-competitive.
Health Policy Snapshot
Two-page briefs providing insight and analysis on key issues affecting health and health care in the United States.
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