HEALTH CARE REFORM
What Are Accountable Care Organizations? Why Are They Important in the Future of Medicine? By Joseph Andresen, MD The political and legal battles regarding funding and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) continue after the legislation was signed into law one year ago. However, one provision in the law is prompting both public and private sector preparations, behind the scenes, despite the lack of front-page news publicity. It is es-
16 | THE BULLETIN | MARCH / APRIL 2011
timated that the ACO (Accountable Care Organization) provision will remain intact no matter what the final outcome of current health reform law challenges. Described in Section 3022 of the ACA, an ACO is an organization designed to “promote accountability for a patient population and coordinates items and services under Medicare Part A and B, and encourages investment in infrastructure and redesigned processes for high quality and efficient service delivery.� This is not a new concept, but one that was first introduced and built on the Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration in 2003. The goal is to improve quality, while reducing costs in health care. Despite having the most sophisticated medical care and technologies in the world, our health care system has been roundly criticized for being fragmented, costly, inequitable, and spotty in terms of quality and delivery. Recognition of these shortcomings, and with unsustainable rising costs, ACOs will become a broad part of the Medicare program after demonstrating success in pilot projects.