The health reform law of 2010 authorizes Medicare, beginning next year, to contract with accountable care organizations (ACOs) in a Medicare Shared Savings Program. ACOs provide financial incentives to improve the coordination and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries, while reducing costs. But providers have raised red flags, saying the arrangements are burdensome and too hard to achieve. This briefing addresses questions raised by the law and the subsequent regulation implementing ACOs, including: How will the new program affect the relationships among primary care providers, specialists and hospitals? Will coordination among providers mean concentration of market power and higher prices? What lessons can be learned from existing ACOs about achieving better care, better health, and lower costs?

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Speakers for this session:

The panel is moderated by Ed Howard of the Alliance for Health Reform and Stuart Guterman of The Commonwealth Fund.

• Rick Gilfillan, CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation
• Susan DeVore, Premier Healthcare Alliance
• William Jessee, Medical Group Management Association
• Mark McClellan, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution