ACO Savings?

How about those ACOs, huh.  It turns out that nearly half of the 114 hospitals and doctor groups that began Accountable Care Organizations under the health law in 2012 managed to slow Medicare spending in their first year!  Hooray!  Wait a minute.   It also turns out that only 29 of them saved enough money to qualify for bonus payments.  🙁

Now, the CMS called the results “very promising”.  Of course they do. They are saving money twice since most of the ACOs are not getting bonuses.  That is a win-win for the government (and soon to be insurance companies, too).

So, how transformative will care be when you work hard to save others money but get nothing in return? Once again, this falls right in line with what Dr. Gurley wrote about PCMH or patient-centered medical homes.

We are being duped.