2017 Accountable Care Organization Metrics: ACO Adoption Doubles in 4 Years as Shared Savings Gain Favor

Sea Girt, NJ, June 26, 2017 --(PR.com)-- Accountable care organization (ACO) adoption more than doubled from 2013 to 2017, with the number of healthcare organizations participating in ACOs rising from 34 to 71 percent, according to 2017 ACO metrics from the Healthcare Intelligence Network.

Over that same period, the percentage of ACOs using shared savings models to reimburse its providers increased from 22 to 33 percent.

Of available ACO initiatives, the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) remains the front runner, with MSSP participation hovering near the same 66 percent level attained in HIN's 2013 ACO snapshot. Looking ahead to 2018 ACO models, 24 percent will embrace the Medicare ACO Track 1+ Model, a payment design that incorporates more limited downside risk.

In other trends identified by the healthcare publisher's fourth comprehensive ACO assessment, ACO administration has shifted from physician-hospital organizations in recent years to integrated delivery systems (IDS).

In new metrics captured by the 2017 ACO survey, one-third of responding ACOs include behavioral health providers, and 26 percent of responding ACOs cover more than 100,000 lives.

Download more metrics from the complimentary HINtelligence report, "Accountable Care Organizations in 2017: ACO Adoption Doubles in 4 Years as Shared Savings Gain Favor," at http://www.hin.com/library/registerACO2017.html.

News Facts:

HIN's white paper, "Accountable Care Organizations in 2017: ACO Adoption Doubles in 4 Years As Shared Savings Gain Favor," summarizes May 2017 feedback from 104 hospitals and health systems, multi-specialty physician practices, health plans, and others on their ACO activity.

This 2017 accountable care snapshot also captured the following trends:

- More than half—57 percent—participate in the Medicare Chronic Care Management program;

- Cost and provider reimbursement are the top ACO challenges, report 18 percent of 2017 respondents;

- Clinical outcomes are the most telling measure of ACO success, according to 83 percent of responding ACOs;

- Twenty-nine percent of respondents not currently administering an ACO expect to launch an accountable care organization in the coming year;

- Thirty-seven percent of ACOs assess members for social determinants of health (SDOH);

- The NCQA Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most common tool for measuring ACO quality, efficiency and satisfaction, say 60 percent of respondents; and

- 75 percent expect CMS to try and proactively assign Medicare beneficiaries to physician ACO panels to boost patient and provider participation.

Download more metrics from the complimentary HINtelligence report, "Accountable Care Organizations in 2017: ACO Adoption Doubles in 4 Years As Shared Savings Gain Favor," at http://www.hin.com/library/registerACO2017.html.

Quote attributable to Melanie Matthews, HIN executive VP and COO:

"CMS has been an innovator and incubator in the ACO space. Medicare's latest ACO models reflect feedback from early adopters that signed on for initiatives like CMS's Pioneer ACO program. With 2018 models incorporating less downside risk, the time is right for the undecided to review these new ACO metrics to learn how accountable care can work for their patients and their organization's bottom line."

For Melanie Matthews's profile, please visit http://www.hin.com/bios.html#mm. Please contact Patricia Donovan to arrange an interview or to obtain additional quotes.