Are Medicaid ACOs Really Helping Patients and Saving Money?
Until recently, it’s been unclear if accountable care organizations, or ACOs, can live up to their hype, or if they’re just the latest fad in health care reform. In a <a href="/blog/2015/unicorn-realized-promising-medicaid-aco-programs-really-exist">new blog post, </a>Tricia McGinnis, vice president at the Center for Health Care Strategies, writes that early experiences in Colorado, Minnesota, and Oregon show that Medicaid ACOs are beginning to save money and improve quality through better care coordination. <br /><br />
Oregon’s three-year-old Medicaid ACO program, for example, has seen drops in emergency department visits, while the health of beneficiaries with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has improved. There have also been declines in overall inpatient and outpatient costs.<br />
<br />
Also available are several related Commonwealth Fund–supported briefs on the Centers for Health Care Strategies website, including<a href="http://www.chcs.org/resource/supporting-social-services-medicaid-accoun…; Supporting Social Service Delivery through Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations: Early State Efforts</a>.