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First Year Pioneer ACO Results: Medicare Money Saved But Some Physicians Leave Program

By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm

On July 16, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a press release summarizing the performance results for the first year of the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model. Made possible by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Pioneer ACO Model encourages providers and care givers to deliver more coordinated care ans services for Medicare beneficiaries. ACOs, including the Pioneer ACO Model and the Medicare Shared Savings Program, are one way CMS is providing options to providers looking to better coordinate care for patients and use health care dollars more wisely, according to CMS.

Click here to read the entire press release from CMS.

Pioneer Model ACOs Increase Quality.

The press release states that all thirty-two (32) participants in the program successfully increased the quality of […]

MedPAC Wants to Hold Accountable Care Organizations More Accountable

By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm

As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) prepares to designate the next class of accountable care organizations (ACOs), the agency sought the advice and input of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on how to proceed. MedPAC is an independent Congressional Agency established to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting Medicare.

Click here to read our previous blog on the background and purpose of ACOs.

MedPAC Suggests All Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs Join the Two-Sided Risk Model.

In response to the request from the CMS, MedPAC reiterated its previous position that it would like to see all Medicare ACOs take on greater financial risk. As it presently stands, some Medicare-contracted ACOs do not share in the risks associated with the ACOs patients’ healthcare costs exceeding certain […]

CMS Extends Waivers under the ACO Shared Savings Program

By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm

On November 2, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) promulgated the interim final rule on fraud and abuse waivers for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The interim rule can be found at 76 Fed. Reg. 67801. The waiver was granted pursuant to the agency’s authority under the Affordable Care Act, specifically, 42 U.S.C. § 1899(f).

You can read our prior blog postings on the ACO waiver programs here.

Normally, interim final rules are only permitted to remain in effect for a maximum of three years (see 69 Fed. Reg. 78422). CMS regulations require the agency to publish a final rule within three years of a proposed or interim final rule. As the […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:58-04:00June 1, 2018|Categories: ACO, Affordable Care Act, The Health Law Firm Blog|Tags: accountable care organization, ACO contract, ACO contracts, ACO financial risk, ACO participation agreement, attorney, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, counsel, defense attorney, defense lawyer, doctor, health law attorney, health law firm, health lawyer, healthcare business lawyer, lawyer, medicare, Medicare ACO, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Medicare Shared Savings Program, Medicare-contracted ACO, MedPAC, MSSP, physician, pioneer ACO, risk model, shared savings program, the health law firm|Comments Off