164 ACOs Already Operating

A review of health care organizations in the United States identified 164 that are potentially operating as accountable care organizations (ACOs). These potential ACOs included entities that either self-identified as being an ACO or those that had specifically adopted the tenets of accountable care—financial accountability for the health care needs of a population, managing the care of that population, and bearing that responsibility at an organizational level. The term ACO has not been formally defined, although it is in commonly used to describe the entities that will participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The 164 potential ACOs . . .