Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Releases Accountable Care Organization Performance Results

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH

Friday, October 27th, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released details for participating Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) for the 2016 performance year.  For reporting ACO results view the entire report here.

The National Association of ACOs (NAACOs) weighed in below:

The new results demonstrate the value of a premier Medicare alternative payment model and include a higher rate (56 percent)* of MSSP ACOs generating savings than ever before and an almost equal proportion as last year of ACOs that earned shared savings (31 percent).

This public update follows previously posted results for Pioneer ACOs, the Next Generation ACO cohort and the Comprehensive End Stage Renal Disease ACO (ESRD) care model here.

In table form, the results are summarized below:

All in, participating ACOs generated $843 million in gross program savings with a modest net savings of $78.6 million for Medicare in 2016, in addition to material gains in quality scores for aligned ACO Medicare beneficiaries.

While Clif Gaus, NAACOS CEO notes:

These results show the growing success of ACOs, which is a positive trend that should not be ignored. A lot has been accomplished in a relatively short amount of time, and ACOs are on the front line of redesigning healthcare delivery. This is a moment to celebrate them and their hard work.

The ACO ‘Jury’ Is Still Is Out

Given the range of models, risk assumed or gain sharing distributed operating results in a program that some still see as fundamentally ill equipped in a predominant fee-for-services market to materially change physician and beneficiary behavior – and thus enable the elusive ‘triple aim‘ – many in the health policy area including select ACO operators remain convinced to maximize impact the ACO model will ultimately morph into the more robust Medicare Advantage operating platform.

Perhaps the ‘stealth play’ in the mix is the potential upside of Next Generation ACOs to fully leverage their competitive advantages (3 day SNF waiver, telehealth visits, relaxed supervision requirements for post hospital discharge visits and the move to all inclusive population based payments) can up-level both their game AND improve outcomes at lower per capita costs?

On the next episode of This Week in Accountable Care, our very special guest is former Acting Administrator of CMS Andy Slavitt, now Senior Advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Andy was initially part of the ‘fix it dream team‘ that righted the failed launch of Healthcare.Gov, and then presided over the administration of the Affordable Care Act.

Andy is rather familiar with the original intent of the ACA, its many ‘working parts’ and the bumps in the road to perfect the law via provider input, updated rule making and policy refinements.

We’ll get Andy’s take on a range of issues from the political environment to conflicting health policy guidance including broad brush advice to ACO operators.

Join National ACO co-founders Andre Berger, MD and Alex Foxman, MD as we engage this visionary and accomplished entrepreneur turned public service official in critical dialogue impacting the transformation of our industry from its fee-for-services roots to a new model based on a value and patient centricity.