19 of 23 Medicare Pioneer ACOs Move Into Year Three; Quality Outcomes Up & Financial Outcomes Mixed

On September 16, 2014, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that quality outcomes for Medicare Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) had improved, but that the Pioneer ACOs had mixed financial outcomes. Of the original 32 Pioneer ACOs selected to participate, and the 23 who continued during the second year, 19 remain in the program for the third performance year.

The Pioneer ACOs were required to report on 35 quality measures. For the past year, both Pioneer ACOs and Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs had higher quality and better patient experience than published benchmarks. The performance measures . . .