Robert Saunders, PhD

Findings published in this issue add to the growing literature showing that multiple types of accountable care organizations (ACOs) can be successful, whether they are confederations of smaller, independent primary care practices or larger, integrated systems.

This study compared beneficiary characteristics and Medicare per capita expenditures among seriously ill Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) populations defined using prospective and retrospective claims-based attribution methods.

Significant populations of seriously ill individuals are insured by all lines of business and have meaningfully different needs and medical histories in California.

Compared with traditional Medicare, relative resource use for those with diabetes or cardiovascular disease is lower in Medicare Advantage, while quality of care is higher.

Even among practices reaching the highest level of PCMH achievement, there are variations in the implementation of key medical home capabilities.