The Affordable Care Act authorizes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a Medicare Shared Savings Program that would create a new category of health care provider, called accountable care organizations (ACOs), in the Medicare program. On March 31, 2011, CMS released a proposed rule for implementing the new program and solicited public comment. On October 20, 2011, CMS released the final rule for implementing the new program. This paper offers a detailed summary of the final rule.
