HHS Adds 123 Medicare ACOs, with About 1.5 Million Beneficiaries

HHS announced the latest round of accountable care contracts in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, adding 123 additional ACOs and reaching about 1.5 million more Medicare beneficiaries.

The new contracts, which bring the total number of Medicare ACOs to more than 360, come as there is still little known about how the earlier adopters have fared in the program, which was established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The first cohort of organizations in the Shared Savings Program, numbering 27, entered the program in April 2012.

The majority of the new ACOs are physician-led and each serve fewer than 10,000 beneficiaries. About 20% of them include community health centers, rural health clinics or critical-access hospitals, according to an HHS news release.

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Source: Modern Healthcare