Accountable Care Organizations

Groups of health care providers and suppliers of services (e.g., hospitals, physicians and others involved in patient care) who agree to be collectively accountable for the quality, cost and overall care of an assigned group of Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in the traditional fee-for-service program (i.e., those who are not in the Medicare Advantage private plan). ACOs represent a type of payment and delivery reform model that seeks to tie provider reimbursements to quality metrics and reductions in the total cost of care for an assigned population of patients; and function as patient-centered organizations where patients and providers are true partners in care decisions. Patient and provider participation in an ACO is purely voluntary.