By Kerry Young, CQ Roll Call
August 26, 2015 -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday said its accountable care organization programs generated more than $411 million in savings last year, a result that will aid its attempts to move away from the fee-for-service model of payment.
CMS released results from the 20 organizations in its so-called Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs and the 333 in the shared savings program. The organizations with more experience in the ACO program tended to perform better over time, CMS said in a statement.
ACOs include groups of hospitals and medical practices that seek to better coordinate the delivery of care, with the aim of reducing duplication of services and medical errors. CMS expects the groups to generate savings for Medicare.