Source Executive Editor Jaime King co-authored a new report with researchers at the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, titled State Actions to Promote and Restrain Commercial Accountable Care Organizations. The reports abstract reads:
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), originally developed as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), have grown in both the public and private sectors. Commercial ACOs have the potential to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes while achieving cost savings. However, they may also present risks— including those related to solvency and anticompetitive pricing—to providers, patients, and payers. Part 1 of this report draws on evidence from the literature and four case studies to outline tools that state governments can use to promote the potential benefits of ACOs while mitigating their potential risks. In Part 2, we apply these lessons to a large state with a rapidly growing ACO market: California. This part outlines policy guidelines for regulators and antitrust enforcement agencies in the state seeking to promote or restrain ACOs.
Enjoy!