36 ACOs to know | 2023
36 ACOs to know | 2023 unknown
ACOs, or accountable care organizations, are physician- and health system-helmed groups that identify healthcare delivery savings. These organizations often partner with Medicare programs while also assisting private insurance patients.
These ACOs save patients and health systems millions of dollars annually, aiming to provide quality care at a reduced cost. Many are among the earliest adopters of the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Note: This list is not an endorsement of included ACOs. ACOs cannot pay for inclusion on this list. ACOs are presented in alphabetical order. We extend a special thank you to Rhoda Weiss for her contributions to this list.
Contact Anna Falvey at afalvey@beckershealthcare.com with questions or comments.
Advocate Health (Charlotte, N.C.). Advocate Health participates in eight Medicare ACOs, serving nearly 270,000 lives across six states. Focused on providing high quality and coordinated care at a lower cost, these ACO networks include more than 13,000 physicians at over 1,000 sites of care. Advocate Health's affiliated Medicare ACOs have saved the federal government and taxpayers more than $633 million since joining the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2012 through its first ACO. The combined ACOs have achieved an average quality score of 95 percent from CMS since 2012. Advocate Health has two affiliated ACO REACH entities participating in CMS's new value-based care program focused on promoting health equity and addressing care disparities for underserved communities.
Arkansas Health Network (Little Rock). Arkansas Health Network is a physician-driven, clinically integrated network serving more than 138,000 patients. The ACO, which is part of CommonSpirit, has around 4,300 providers and 31 hospitals. In the last two performance years, 2020 and 2021, AHN successfully saved CMS over $22 million. From these savings, they secured over $13 million in earned shared savings. Their efforts have largely centered around expanding their network by prospecting top-performing providers throughout Arkansas. Under the leadership of CEO Bob Sarkar, AHN became the first clinically integrated network to obtain dual accreditation in clinical integration and employer based population health through URAC earlier this year.
Atlantic Accountable Care Organization (Morristown, N.J.). As one of the first ACOs established from the inception of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, the Atlantic ACO has consistently saved Medicare money each year. In the most recently recorded year, it saved nearly $10 million by achieving its saving targets in ACO contracts. Going forward, AHS ACO is determined to expand programs for behavioral health.
Banner Health Network (Phoenix). Beneficiaries of Banner Health Network receive quality care and preventive medicine that results in less cost to Medicare. Led by Chuck Lehn, it has saved millions of dollars since its inception. Banner Health Network has developed an incentive plan for ophthalmology practices that encourages practices to use equally effective but lower-cost vascular endothelial growth factor-modulating medications. The ACO reported a $25.6 million performance payment during the 2021 reporting period for the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Baptist Physician Partners (Jacksonville, Fla.). Baptist Physician Partner was founded in 2014, and has since become an ACO through the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2018, ranked in the top 4 percent for total savings for all participating ACOs, and has generated just over $125 million in total savings from value-based agreements since its inception. Recent accomplishments for the organization include significant expansion of a home-based care model, an established leadership structure for palliative care, the creation of a new population health transformation team, migrating the six-hospital Baptist Health system to Epic and more. The ACO is led by Mary Leen, DNP, and Craig Shapiro, MD. This year's goals for the organization include the expansion of their nine enhanced home based models, serious illness management and advocacy program, and skilled nursing facility at home model. Additionally, BPP is aiming to develop a standardized and scalable model for the improvement of patient experience across Baptist Health primary care offices.
Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance (Dallas). Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance is an ACO as well as a clinically integrated network affiliated with Baylor Scott & White Health. It serves more than 1 million members — including a dozen employers — and is committed to delivering its patients the highest quality, cost-effective care possible. The Alliance's provider network is composed of more than 8,500 physicians and 700 facilities including hospitals, ASCs, post-acute care and urgent care sites. The ACO achieved a 99.5 percent quality score from CMS in 2021 and was No. 1 in savings for MSSP in the U.S. for 2020 and 2021. In addition, it has logged nearly $300 Million in savings for the last three years of CMS reporting. (Note: This data information was submitted before CMS released its final performance data for the 2022 reporting year.)
Boston Accountable Care Organization (Boston). Boston Accountable Care Organization is a 180,000-plus member organization that strives to improve the healthcare of the populations it serves. The organization recently improved its behavioral health and substance use disorder care and enhanced data, reporting and health information technology to enable better performance improvement. It is forming a Health Equity Committee to improve its services for all which includes additional training and population needs assessments. For the 2021 reporting year, the ACO reported nearly $5 million in earnings.
Community Care of Brooklyn IPA (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Community Care of Brooklyn IPA is in the top 25 percent of New York ACOs on the basis of savings per beneficiary. It achieved a quality score of 98.3 percent and saved Medicare nearly $12M with a network that serves a disproportionate number of dual-eligible individuals. CCB IPA's network serves 10,500 Medicare fee for service beneficiaries or 28 percent of all Brooklyn-based Medicare beneficiaries attributed to ACOs.
Covenant ACO (Lubbock, Texas). Covenant's ACO is led by CEO Michael Robertson, MD. Its goal is to continue to move patients to risk bearing agreements, including full risk, and enhance performance on contracts to become financially self-sustaining. Over the last two years, Covenant has launched a branded Medicare Advantage plan, developed a direct-to-employer contracting strategy, reduced PAC costs and worked with providers to lower costs by illustrating how Covenant's cost and performance metrics compared to its peers.
HMH ACO (Edison, N.J.). HMH is led by executives William Oser, MD, Philip Woodham, MD, Thomas Flynn and Lane Benoff, MD. It was created to reduce the per capita cost of healthcare by lowering costs through the improvement of clinical outcomes. HMH was created through the consolidation of three Hackensack ACOs. It currently has 1,352 participants, 1,300 providers and 60,000 beneficiaries. The ACO's participants have created more than $247 million in combined total savings from 2012 to 2021.
Healthier Communities ACO (Suffern, N.Y.). Founded in 2020, Healthier Communities ACO aims to assist providers in meeting quality and efficiency requirements and making the most of the incentives. The ACO was created by Westchester Medical Center Health Network and its Bon Secours Medical Group to provide high quality, coordinated care and reduce costs to Medicare fee-for-service patients. In 2020, the ACO earned $2.6 million in shared savings. It is currently under a five-year renewable contract with CMS and is led by Michele Muldoon, NP, chief clinical officer of Bon Secours Charity Health System.
Innovation Care Partners (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Innovation Care Partners Medicare Shared Savings Program has earned a shared savings payment from Medicare for its outstanding quality and efficiency for seven consecutive years. This amounted to gross Medicare savings of $14.4 million, shared savings of $8.5 million, and a quality performance rating of 98.28 percent. Since its inception in 2014, Innovation Care Partners Medicare Shared Savings Program has achieved over $121 million in total savings, the highest cumulative savings for any MSSPs in Arizona.
JFK Health ACO (Edison, N.J.). JFK Health ACO is one of Hackensack Meridian Health's three ACOs, and under the leadership of William Oser as ACO executive. JFK Health ACO participates in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and recorded savings of $2.4 million in the 2020 performance year.
Keystone ACO (Danville, Pa.). Keystone ACO is a consortium of four member healthcare organizations and provider practices ranging from independent physician practices to large integrated healthcare system delivering care for about 70,000 attributed beneficiaries in central and northeast Pennsylvania. Launched in 2012 after participating in the Physician Group Demonstration Project and extension, Geisinger is the largest participant and administrator of the program. Since 2018, Keystone ACO has continually hit quality benchmarks and saved Medicare a net $101.7M through a diverse and focused clinical care delivery model supported by case management, medication and disease management, and at-home services.
LTC ACO (Kennett Square, Pa.). LTC ACO is led by president and CEO Jason Feurman. It was created to deepen the application of predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to improve quality outcomes and drive the highest per beneficiary value of any ACO. LTC is also working to help ACOs band together for change, particularly ACOs serving complex, high-needs populations. Over the last two years, LTC has experienced 140 percent growth. It is the largest MSSP ACO of its type, assuming risk for nearly 20,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.
Loudoun Medical Group ACO (Leesburg, Va.). Led by Mary Beth Tamasy, Loudoun Medical Group ACO achieved a record year in terms of revenue received from value-based arrangements. Their earnings are a manifestation of their pledge to provide high-quality, low-cost care to highly satisfied patients. The ACO saw over $1.5 million in shared savings over the 2021 performance year.
Mayo Clinic Community Accountable Care Organization, LLC (Rochester, Minn.). Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mayo Clinic ACO provided great access to its members. It increased the use of remote care options and used an internally developed registry to review the charts of patients and proactively schedule appropriate visits. In addition to ongoing efforts, Mayo Clinic ACO initiated a program to expand the delivery of Medicare Annual Wellness Visits to its patients at ACO participant locations.
MemorialCare Medical Foundation (Fountain Valley, Calif.). With more than 2,000 employed and contracted physicians, MemorialCare Medical Foundation provides HMO, PPO and direct-to-employer services to nearly 70,000 beneficiaries in its contracting with 11 ACO arrangements. These include Aetna, Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, Primary Care First, Centivo and The Boeing Company. Its multi-year successful DTE relationship with Boeing stands as a national success story of California's first significant DTE population health management model that demonstrates continually cost savings, reaching and exceeding clinical benchmarks and more. MemorialCare in Southern California has four top hospitals, more than 225 care sites, research, clinical training programs and a health plan.
Mercy Health Select (Cincinnati). Mercy Health Select is the ACO of Mercy Health that works to save patients money with efficient care. It earned a $25.3 million payment through the Medicare Shared Savings Program for the 2021 reporting year. For Mercy Health Select, connecting partners and patients for effective and efficient care is a top priority.
New York Medical Partners ACO, New York Medical Partners ACO, LLC. This ACO managed by the Mount Sinai Health System is designed to meet quality and cost goals for the management of about 50,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Through participation in the ACO, Mount Sinai Health System has integrated innovative programs, pooled resources, and developed new methods for streamlining care across a range of services — from chronic disease management to specialty care and complex procedures, to promoting prevention and wellness. It has also achieved more than $28 million in savings.
Northeast Medical Group ACO (Stratford, Conn.). Yale New Haven Health System's nonprofit multispecialty medical foundation is an ACO serving more than 27,000 patients. It is focused on providing high-quality, cost-effective care that is compassionate and sensitive to each patient's needs. Since 2018, Northeast Medical Group has scored among the highest in the northeast region in quality. Total savings achieved have been more than $70 million. Northeast Medical Group’s patients have access to a provider network of nearly 1,500 clinicians and can receive care at five affiliated hospitals and more than 130 community practices in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Westchester County, N.Y. Patients also have coordinated access to specialists at Yale Medicine.
OSF HealthCare ACO (Peoria, Ill.). Launched in 2012, it was one of the nation's first ACOs before it transitioned to one of the original 18 Next Generation ACOs. Since 2017, OSF has participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. During 2020 and 2021, OSF saved CMS over $52 million. The OSF HealthCare accountable care goals for 2023 include initiating a region-specific, targeted outreach campaign for beneficiaries of the MSSP, continuation of care management for high-risk beneficiaries, and leveraging technology to assist with a scalable expansion to a systemwide, integrated approach to social drivers of health.
Ochsner Accountable Care Network (New Orleans). Ochsner Accountable Care Network comprises a network of physicians in support of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, with high ranking results for the Louisiana and Mississippi Medicare populations. It has improved health outcomes for beneficiaries and reduced healthcare spending by more than $100 million since its inception in 2016, and has grown to over 60,000 Medicare beneficiaries in 2023. The ACO is led by Sidney "Beau" Raymond, MD and Eric Gallagher. Their goals for the organization include improved patient outcomes and experience, reduced costs and prioritization of team well-being through development, optimization and scale of proven and innovative clinical models. These models include increased primary care physician visits, high-risk patient care coordination and support, and ambulatory care coordination.
Optimus Healthcare Partners, LLC (Summit, N.J.). Optimus Healthcare was one of the first ACOs established from the inception of the Medicare Shared Savings Program and is led by Scott Maron, MD, president and CEO. It has saved more than $10 million by achieving high quality and cost savings targets in ACO contracts. Optimus also developed a cloud-based, analytic reporting platform that allowed for the aggregation of patient data sources, data master capabilities and the ability to better care for the patients it serves.
Orlando Health Collaborative (Orlando, Fla.). Orlando Health Network's ACO achieved savings of nearly $20 million in healthcare costs through meeting quality and cost goals in 2021. It also earned high marks across four major quality domains, with an overall score of 96.87 percent. The network expanded its value-based care partnerships with commercial payers including Aetna, Cigna, Florida Blue, and UnitedHealthcare, and boasts more than 5,700 multispecialty providers, a robust and expanding ambulatory footprint, and 16 wholly-owned hospitals and emergency departments.
Palm Beach Accountable Care Organization (Palm Springs, Fla.). PBACO is an ACO that strives to improve patient experience, population health and decrease per capita healthcare costs. The organization features more than 275 PCPs and 175 specialist physician members. It also looks after 79,000 Medicare beneficiaries. PBACO was the top earner for the Medicare Shared Savings Program for the last two years, reporting $61.9 million in earned savings in 2021.
Physician Partners of Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh). Physician Partners is led by Bill Johnjulio, MD, chief medical director of Physician Partners of Western PA and chief population health officer of Allegheny Health Network. Physician Partners recently agreed to two new value-based contracts with Aetna and Gateway Health / Highmark Wholecare which impacts about 80,000 covered lives. Over the past few years, the group has driven over $26.5 million in shared savings among its 3,500 partners.
Privia Quality Network (Arlington, Va.). Privia Quality Network is an ACO that is focused on reducing inefficiencies in the healthcare delivery system with leading physicians. It has generated more than $740 million in savings for its total 846,000 attributed lives. Privia works with providers to improve the efficiency and quality of care for their patient populations. For the 2021 reporting year, Privia collected $41.6 million in performance payments as part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
The Queen’s Health System Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization (Honolulu). Queen's entered the Medicare Shared Savings Program with its ACO in 2017, placing Whitney Limm, MD, executive vice president of clinical integration and chief physician executive, at the helm. It covers nearly 16,000 Medicare beneficiaries with annual spending of more than $150 million. The ACO also realized more than $5 million in cost reductions and earned a savings bonus of more than $2 million, which was shared between the health system and its participating providers.
Rainier Health Network, Franciscan Northwest Physicians Health Network (Tacoma, Wash.). Rainier Health Network is an ACO with the goal of delivering high-quality healthcare and driving down costs with an innovative approach to care. The network is transforming healthcare delivery with physician-led and patient-centered care. It is part of a large nonprofit health system and operates in 21 states with more than 1,000 care sites and serves 20 million patients annually in the U.S.
Signify Health Collaborative ACO (Dallas). Signify Health Collaborative connects hospitals and physicians to deliver more efficient care by leveraging data-driven insights and processes. The ACO, which is part of Signify Health, features more than 26,000 clinicians and over 700,000 attributed Medicare lives. Through its efforts, the ACO has delivered $630 million in total savings to Medicare.
Steward National Care Network (Westwood, Mass.). The Steward National Care Network, a subsidiary of Steward Health Care, serves nine states and works to provide the most efficient and effective care to patients. The network also provides a full range of primary care physicians and specialists. The Steward Promise ACO is dedicated to connecting healthcare providers to give the best care for each individual. For the 2021 reporting year, Steward reported a nearly $34.5 million performance payout as part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Temple Care (Philadelphia). Led by Steven Carson, Temple Care is a participant in CMS's ACO REACH, an alternative payment model program. The program transitioned from being a direct contracting entity in 2022. Temple Care collects patients' demographic and social needs data so that it can implement the most effective care strategies to achieve the best health outcomes for beneficiaries. Some of Temple Care's primary goals are to advance the health equity plan, support programmatic outcomes, expand community outreach programs and enhance quality programming for the sub-acute network.
University Hospitals Coordinated Care Organization (Cleveland). Led by Mark Schario, University Hospital Coordinated Care Organization’s ACO reduced Medicare expenditures by 21 percent and improved quality to 100 percent, up from 73 percent over two years. It implemented a framework to eliminate defects and employed a management system that includes: declaring goals, roles, and resources; creating enabling infrastructure; creating peer learning communities; and reporting transparently and creating shared accountability systems.
USMM Accountable Care Partners (Troy, Mich.). USMM Accountable Care Partners provides a wide array of services for over 30,000 patients across 11 states. It is an award-winning network of home-based primary care providers. Clinicians within the ACO work to provide high-quality, compassionate and cost-effective care to the elderly population of the United States. USMM earned a $27.9 million payment as part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program for the 2021 reporting period.
Vytalize Health (Hoboken, N.J.). Vytalize Health is led by co-founders Faris Ghawi and Amer Alnajar, MD. It was founded to fix the nation's health system and the founders hope to improve existing fee-for-service frameworks, create value in healthcare and pay physicians more to spend additional time with Medicare beneficiaries. Vytalize PCPs work with Medicare patients 80 percent more than the national average. Its engaged patients have seen a 41 percent decrease in emergency room utilization, 17 percent higher patient retention, 9 percent cost savings and a 10 to 30 percent increase in revenue for physicians. In the last couple of years, Vytalize has closed on $150 million in funding. In early 2023, it acquired the Independent Physician Association of New York, one of the largest independent physician associations in the country.