- Posted
- June 03, 2011
Criticism mounts for federal ACO push
The federal government’s efforts to promote the accountable care organization concept was dealt another setback this week when an official evaluation of a Medicare ACO pilot found that just four of the 10 leading health systems in the county participating in the pilot slowed Medicare spending enough to earn a bonus in 2010 (Source: “Experiment to lower Medicare costs did not save much money,” Washington Post, June 1, 2011).
Despite the lack of substantial cost control in the five-year experiment, all 10 of the participating systems did meet quality targets.
Also this week, Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove wrote a letter to CMS Administrator Don Berwick outlining what he calls “significant barriers” in the proposed rule for the Medicare Shared Savings Program that would likely discourage many hospitals from joining the ACO program outlined in the ACA (Source: “Cleveland Clinic CEO: Proposed ACO rules create ‘significant barriers’,” MedCity News, June 2, 2011).
“Rather than providing a broad framework that focuses on results as the key criteria for success, the proposed rule is replete with 1) prescriptive requirements that have little to do with outcomes, and 2) many detailed governance and reporting requirements that create significant administrative burdens,” according to the letter (pdf, 8 pages).
To learn more about the concept of accountable care, the proposed Medicare Shared Savings Program federal rules, and the experience of several Ohio-based health systems that are already implementing some form of accountable care, please view HPIO’s policy brief “Understanding the Medicare ACO and Its Potential Impact on Ohio and the Nation: Considerations of CMS Draft Rules.” (pdf, 24 pages).