CMS announces 2014 Medicare ACO results

Medicare Accountable Care Organizations qualified for more than $422 million in shared savings in 2014 by meeting quality standards and their savings threshold, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced yesterday. Eleven Pioneer ACOs earned $82 million in shared savings and three owed $9 million in shared losses. In addition, 92 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs earned more than $341 million in shared savings. Pioneer ACOs are early adopters of coordinated care and assume greater performance-based financial risk. There were 20 Pioneer and 333 MSSP ACOs in 2014. ACOs with three years of experience in the program were more likely to earn savings (37%) than those participating one (19%) or two years (27%). Pioneer ACOs improved on 28 of 33 quality measures in 2014, while MSSP ACOs improved on 27 of 33 measures. CMS expects to announce new and renewing ACOs later this year.