Two Massachusetts-Based Pioneer ACOs Leave Program
Two accountable care organizations in Massachusetts -- Mount Auburn Cambridge Independent Practice Association and the Steward Health Care System -- this week dropped out of CMS' Pioneer ACO program, leaving just half of the original ACOs remaining. The departures coincide with a new round of ACO testing designed to address some disadvantages of the Pioneer program. Dubbed "Next Generation" ACOs, the new program will place more risk on the organizations, but also will allow the providers more freedom to use telemedicine and home visits.
- "Two More Pioneer ACOs Exit as New CMS Model Emerges" (Evans, Modern Healthcare, 11/4).