Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that it cost less and quality was as good for Medicare beneficiaries who were cared for in accountable care-type organizations with commercial, but not Medicare, contracts.
For a number of years CMS has conducted demonstrations and pilots with provider organizations similar to the current accountable care organization concept. Those demonstrations appear to have had mixed results, generally improving quality but not reducing spending by any significant amount.
In this holiday season, it is a time for giving presents and our latest Potpourri presents you with many gifts of health information, including some positive news about an ACO program, some cautions for the success of ACOs, an apparently successful disease management program, lung cancer screening, earnings growth for physicians and other health professionals and lessons in bundled payments.
Actuarial firm Oliver Wyman issues a report on Accountable Care Organizations, using questionable math to create the headline-grabbing number of 10% of Americans being covered by ACOs. The report basically continues the unwarranted hype surrounding ACOs as a savior for our health spending issues.
It is cooling down across most of the country, but our Potpourri remains red-hot, with nuggets on the moderation in health spending over the last few years, how to change automatic health behaviors, EHRs and diabetes care, a medical home pilot in Colorado and an ACO demonstration in Maine.
The Commonwealth Fund releases an Issue Brief describing the readiness or lack thereof among hospitals participating in accountable care organizations. As might be expected, handling financial risk is one of the biggest shortcomings, along with necessary information system infrastructure.
About this Blog
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at [email protected].
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