OIG: Medicare ACO successes should inform CMS efforts to transform care

Medicare accountable care organizations report a number of successful strategies to reduce Medicare spending and improve quality of care for patients, which should inform the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ efforts to transform the health care system from fee-for-service to value-based care, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General said in a report this week. The finding is based on interviews with 20 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs that reduced spending relative to their benchmark and had an overall quality score of 90 or more in their second, third or fourth performance year. The...