Medicare Accountable Care Organization Results For 2015: The Journey To Better Quality And Lower Costs Continues

On August 25, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the quality and financial results for the ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and the Pioneer ACO Model during 2015. Overall, 31 percent of the MSSP and Pioneer ACOs received shared savings bonuses for their 2015 performance, an increase over the 27 percent that earned a bonus in 2014.

While more ACOs are succeeding under the program, there continues to be substantial variation in financial performance and quality results. This variation underscores that payment reform alone...