New ACO Rules Would Delay Penalties an Extra Three Years

December 3, 2014

(Kaiser Health News) – Health care systems experimenting with a new way of being paid by Medicare would have three extra years before they could be punished for poor performance, the federal government proposed Monday. The proposal is one of dozens of changes that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services wants to make to rules governing accountable care organizations. ACOs are affiliations of doctors, hospitals and other providers that jointly care for Medicare patients with the goal of pocketing a portion of what they save the government. Those that spend above Medicare estimates stand to lose money.