San Diego-based Sharp Healthcare, which was selected as a Medicare Pioneer accountable care organization in 2011, has left the Pioneer program after determining its ACO was at risk for "significant shared loss" for performance year three.
The Pioneer ACO Model is a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation initiative. CMS announced the original 32 Pioneer ACOs in December 2011, with the first performance period for Pioneers beginning Jan. 1, 2012.
In July 2013, nine Pioneer ACOs left the program after CMS released preliminary results from the first performance year. Seven of the nine ACOs that left the program switched to the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Sharp Healthcare's ACO, which includes seven hospitals and two medical groups, did not achieve enough savings in 2012 — its first performance year — to share in them with CMS.
In June, Sharp Healthcare announced its ACO was dropping out of the Pioneer program in its financial statement for the third quarter.
Under the Pioneer agreement, Sharp Healthcare could terminate its participation in the Pioneer program during the first six months of any annual period and not have financial responsibility for that period.
With Sharp Healthcare leaving the program, only 22 of the original Pioneer ACOs remain.
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