CMS Chooses 32 Pioneer ACOs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the selection of 32 leading health care organizations from across the country to participate in the new Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations initiative. The Pioneer ACOs, will help providers better coordinate care for Medicare patients beginning Jan. 1, 2012 in the same way that regional ACOs will likely operate for the entire population by 2014. Groups of health care providers will be rewarded by how well they improve quality and reduce costs. Financial incentives reportedly surpass those offered in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. “These payment models will allow organizations that are successful in achieving better care and lower cost growth to move away from a payment system based on volume under the fee-for-service model, towards one where the ACO is paid based on the value of care it provides,” according to a press release.