Maybe ACOs will just go away?

Although regulations related to the reform legislation, in proposed form, are expected to be released in the coming weeks it is unlikely that they will reach final format for months. It is also likely that the volume of comments generated by the proposed regulations will be substantial. Add to this the changing atmosphere in congress and we can be sure that we have no idea what the end product will look like.


Can we take a collective sigh of relief and turn our attention to other pressing matters? Hardly. The most controversial aspects of the reform law are mandated benefits, the impact of the rules on small business, and insurance premium controls. How we deliver care (called ACOs) isn’t really part of the debate. Whatever we decide to call this collaborative care model we shouldn’t expect it to go away since the future of Medicare Part B depends on it. Likewise employers will want to see some action on the reduction of their health benefit costs and employees are tired of the cost shifting of health insurance by their employers. All this means that we need to continue our focus on ways to deliver care in an efficient, high quality, cost conscious fashion.

Granted we don’t yet know what the government expects from the ACO or exactly how money will change hands but don’t for a minute think that hospitals, physicians, and others working in a collaborative environment with rich clinical and cost data availability won’t be in all our futures.

Don’t be the deer in the headlights. There is plenty of preliminary work that needs to be done regardless of what an ACO will look like or even what it will be called. Get started.