Accountable care organizations (ACOs) within the Medicare Shared Financial savings Program saved $2.4 billion in 2024, in accordance with knowledge launched final week by the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers (CMS).
The Shared Financial savings Program permits healthcare suppliers and organizations to type an ACO, which takes duty for the standard, value and affected person expertise of take care of a bunch of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.
Out of the 476 ACOs that participated in 2024, 75% earned $4.1 billion in efficiency funds, CMS additionally reported.
Final yr noticed the “highest share of ACOs receiving efficiency funds and the very best quantity of financial savings for ACOs and Medicare because the inception of the Shared Financial savings Program,” the company famous. This system began in 2012.
As well as, ACOs achieved greater financial savings per capita in 2024 than in 2023: $241 versus $207 in internet per capita financial savings and $643 versus $515 in gross per capita financial savings, respectively. Web per capita financial savings replicate the quantity saved by Medicare alone, whereas gross per capita financial savings signify the full financial savings shared between ACOs and Medicare.
Some ACOs, nonetheless, didn’t obtain financial savings, with 16 owing shared losses equalling $20.3 million.
CMS additionally reported that ACOs helped enhance affected person outcomes, together with blood strain and hemoglobin A1c ranges. Of those who reported high quality measures by way of the CMS Internet Interface, the imply proportion of beneficiaries with managed hypertension rose to 79.49% in 2024 from 77.8% in 2023. The imply proportion of these with poor hemoglobin A1c management fell to 9.44% in 2024 from 9.84% in 2023.
Furthermore, most ACOs carried out higher than comparable doctor teams on high quality measures. For instance, ACOs did a lot better than comparable doctor teams in screening for despair and creating follow-up plans: 53.5% in comparison with 44.4%.
The Nationwide Affiliation of ACOs applauded the ACOs that achieved financial savings for Medicare.
“The outcomes present ongoing measurable success in bettering high-quality, coordinated care that addresses prevention, power sickness and the foundation causes of illness,” mentioned Emily Brower, president and chief government officer of the Nationwide Affiliation of ACOs, in an announcement.
“NAACOS and its members are excited to companion with CMS to construct on the success of ACOs in making and conserving seniors wholesome by advancing the long-term sustainability of value-based care fashions,” Brower continued. “Collectively, we will proceed to assist well being care innovation and transformation by creating long-term monetary stability, growing capitation approaches, decreasing supplier burden, and making accountable care accessible to extra seniors on Medicare.”
Photograph: StockFinland, Getty Photographs
