Statement on 2019 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO Results
By Blair Childs, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs
Premier congratulates the 541 accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the 2019 Medicare Shared Savings Program for achieving the highest net total Medicare savings to date—$1.19 billion—while delivering high-quality care. These impressive results reinforce the innovativeness of America’s healthcare providers as well the value of the ACO model. Premier alliance members have been leading participants in these models from the start and remain committed to delivering cost effective, integrated care to their patients. They are committed to moving from our current fragmented and sickness-based healthcare system to one that rewards quality and health.
While CMS cites better performance of “low-revenue” or physician-led ACOs, our experience has not shown that to be the case. We believe it is important to maintain a level competitive playing field for all ACOs. Model designs that discourage inclusion of hospitals undermine the objective of ACOs, which is to coordinate care across all providers to improve care, as well as potentially jeopardize access to needed patient care.
Changes are needed to speed progression to advanced risk-based models. Congress can further incent providers to participate in ACOs by lowering the APM Incentive Payment thresholds in MACRA to ensure more clinicians have the opportunity to become a Qualifying APM Participant (QP) and participate in Advanced APMs and by extending the 5 percent bonuses available to QPs participating in Advanced APMs. Moreover, Congress should also pass the Rural ACO Improvement Act (2648) / Accountable Care in Rural America Act (H.R. 5212) that would remove an ACOs’ attributed population from the regional benchmark calculation.
About Premier, Inc.
Premier, Inc. is a leading technology-driven healthcare improvement company, providing solutions to two-thirds of all healthcare providers in the U.S. Playing a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, Premier unites providers, suppliers, payers and policymakers to make healthcare better with national scale, smarter with actionable intelligence and faster with novel technologies. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier offers integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, consulting and other services in service of our mission to improve the health of communities. Please visit Premier’s news site on www.premierinc.com; as well as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Premier’s blog for more information about the company.