2015 Medicare ACO Results: The Journey to Better Quality and Lower Costs Continues

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released 2015 quality and financial results for accountable care organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Pioneer ACO Model. Of the ACOs participating during 2015, 31 percent received shared savings bonuses — a four point increase over 2014.

Consistent with 2014 results, 2015 data confirms that the most experienced ACOs are more likely to achieve savings and that large, consolidated ACOs do not necessarily achieve the best performance. This recent Health Affairs blog post expands on these conclusions, providing analysis and policy implications based on CMS’ results.

ACO News is a feature of the Medicaid Accountable Care Organization Resource Center, an online collection of tools designed to help Medicaid agencies develop and launch accountable care organizations.