ACOs associated with less spending

A recently published study found that patients cared for by accountable care organizations (ACOs) on average cost less in post-acute care than patients who were treated by non ACO-providers. The study looked at providers who participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, which rewards participating providers whose patients' care cost less. The hope is that if providers can benefit from cost savings, overall treatment costs will become less expensive. Providers might be able to achieve this by paying closer attention to their patients' health or by spending more time educating their patients. Some provider clinics go as far as hiring additional staff to help their patients avoid costly hospital re-admissions; they expect that the cost of the additional staff will be more than covered by the financial rewards from the overall savings.

This seems like a promising result and explains the recent trend towards expecting providers to accept more risk for their patient care. With a new administration in place, it remains to be seen if this trend will continue or if CMS will take a different direction.