The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released interim financial results for the Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Advance Payment ACOs, as well as preliminary evaluation results for the Pioneer ACOs and final results from the Physician Group Practice Demonstration initiatives.
According to the findings, Medicare ACOs that shared in savings under the Shared Savings Program generated shared savings totaling $128 million for the Medicare trust fund. Of the 114 ACOs that started program operations in 2012, 54 ACOs had lower expenditures than projected, and 29 will share interim savings totaling more than $126 million – a strong start this early in the program. Initial results from the independent evaluation of the Pioneer ACO Model, the ACO model designed for more experienced organizations prepared to take on greater financial risk, shows that Pioneer ACOs have saved $155 million while continuing to deliver high quality care. More than 25,000 physicians earned incentives by working with their ACO to successfully report quality measures. This positive news regarding the Medicare ACOs combined with a continuing decline in the latest Medicare hospital readmission data demonstrates that Medicare delivery system reform efforts are gaining momentum and moving in the right direction.
“These innovative programs are showing encouraging results in delivering high quality, lower cost health care, while providing valuable lessons as we strive to improve our nation’s health care delivery system,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
The findings demonstrate that ACOs of various sizes and organizational structures located across the country can deliver high quality care while reducing expenditure growth.
The Medicare Shared Savings Program was created to facilitate coordination and cooperation among providers to improve the quality of care for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries and reduce the growth in costs. ACOs share with Medicare any savings generated from lowering the growth in health care costs while meeting standards for high quality care. Final performance year 1 results will be released later this year, but the early results are promising.
Palm Beach Accountable Care Organization, LLC (PBACO) is one of the 29 ACOs eligible to share savings, with savings of more than $22 million. Medicare and PBACO will each receive close to $11 million. Savings will be distributed to each of its nearly 175 PBACO member physicians.
“We are honored to have received the nation’s first Medicare ACO number and are fortunate to have seen measurable success, as well as improved quality of care, with this model,” said Kelly Conroy, CEO of the Palm Beach ACO and South Florida ACO.
“Our ACO has realized this significant achievement in part because we are physician owned and operated,” added Hymin Zucker, M.D., the medical director for PBACO. “We are giving physicians control and allowing them to deliver the right care to the right patient at the right time. This experience is preparing our physicians for the future of medicine.”
