News: ACOs achieved $174 million in savings to Medicare in 2017, AHA says

Hospital affiliated accountable care organizations (ACO) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) achieved $174 million in net savings to Medicare, according to a new infographic from the American Hospital Association (AHA).

Additionally, hospital-affiliated ACOs received a quality score of 92.3% and spent about $690 million less than their 2017 benchmarks, the AHA says. Organizations can expect, however, to spend $5-$12 million on ACO startup costs, depending on their size, and roughly $6.3-$14.1 million on an annual basis.

While CMS and other organizations, such as the AHA, have lauded ACOs’ ability to reduce costs and improve quality, studies have also found that physicians lack confidence in value-based initiatives’ ability to reduce healthcare costs and improve quality of care in any substantial way.

Editor’s note: To read the full infographic from the AHA, click here. To read CMS’ reports of ACO participation and success, click here. To read about physicians’ skepticism of these programs, click here.