It is increasingly becoming understood that (1) improvement in our fragmented and unsustainably costly health care system will require better coordinated care, more transparent to the consumer, using evidence-based measures to achieve better outcomes, greater patient satisfaction and improved cost efficiency; (2) that such an improved system would be more "accountable"; (3) that an accountable care organization means a provider-based organization comprised of multiple providers with a sufficient level of clinical integration to deliver accountable care; and (4) both the payment system and delivery system need to change together to achieve accountable care.
This session will explore: the organizational and structural characteristics of evolving ACOs; the status of demonstrations, pilots, and implemented arrangements currently in the marketplace; and the practical steps providers should be taking to position themselves to become an ACO. The discussion will include federal, state, and private sector prospects for payment reform, such as pay for performance, bundled payments, and partial or full global payments, and the implications of these various programs for ACO governance and management, provider components and legal structures.
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