Association Between Specialist Office Visits and Health Expenditures in Accountable Care Organizations

Accountable Care Organizations and Population Health Organizations.

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) and hospitals are investing in improving "population health," by which they nearly always mean the health of the "population" of patients "attributed" by Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurers to their organizations. But population health can and should also mean "the health of the entire population in a geographic area." We present arguments for an...

Accountable care organizations and health care disparities.

UNDER SECTION 3022 OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is tasked with developing and testing accountable care organizations (ACOs). The goal of ACOs is to group hospitals and physician practices together to facilitate and incentivize quality improvement and cost containment—critical steps for US health care. However, careful consideration and monitoring duri...

Importance of specialist engagement in accountable care organizations.

W e are in the midst of a tumultuous time in health policy. As new payment models gradually replace fee-for-service systems, new quality metrics proliferate, and costs of care become a bona fide health outcome, expensive imaging and procedures face increasing scrutiny. Responsible for >$300 billion in medical spending in 2010, 1 more than any other diagnostic group, cardiovascular disease is un...

Accountable care organizations.

Accountable care organizations.