Medicare Spent $683M In ACO Bonuses For $466M In Program Savings

Medicare spent $217 million more in bonuses to accountable care organizations than the ACO program saved, according to CMS figures released Thursday (Aug. 25) . CMS officials disagreed with characterizing that as a loss and emphasized that ACOs “generated Medicare savings” of $466 million. They also stressed that ACOs are improving the quality of care. “We believe the total savings from these initiatives is greater than the numbers reported today, which reflect the statutory methodology used to determine ACOs’ eligibility...