Becker's Hospital Review is pleased to highlight a variety of Medicare and commercial payer accountable care organizations, led by hospitals and health systems, physician groups and other organizations.
ACOs cover approximately 28.3 million lives, according to January 2016 data from Leavitt Partners. As value-based care matures, it has become clear that not all ACOs are created equal. CMS data from 2014 shows just one in four ACOs qualified for shared savings and several have left Medicare programs. Other research suggests growing pains are on the horizon. One study published in Health Affairs found physicians who participate in ACOs are more likely to practice in affluent areas — meaning value-based care has yet to touch some of the most vulnerable patient populations.
But for now, ACOs are still experiencing relatively unbridled growth. In January, an additional 100 organizations joined the ranks of MSSP ACOs and 21 were selected to join CMS' newest model, the Next Generation. Overall, Leavitt Partners estimates three-fourths of early Medicare ACO adopters are continuing in at least one of the Medicare programs. On top of that, hospitals and health systems continue to ink value-based care agreements with commercial payers, which account for approximately 60 percent of lives covered by ACOs, according to Leavitt Partners.
This is the fifth year Becker's Hospital Review has published its list of ACOs to know. ACOs were selected for inclusion based on a number of factors, including quality and cost performance, participation in CMS' Next Generation Model, the Pioneer Model, advanced tracks of the Medicare Shared Savings Program and if it has recently struck new commercial agreements. ACOs are presented in alphabetical order and are either listed by formal name of the ACO or, if the organization has several contracts, by name of the health system or provider group associated with those ACOs.
Note: ACOs are presented in alphabetical order and cannot pay for inclusion.
Sponsored By:
Premier Inc. is a leading healthcare improvement company uniting an alliance of approximately 3,600 U.S. hospitals and 120,000 other providers. Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare and plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide.
Accountable Care Coalition of North Texas (Fort Worth, Texas). With a network of nearly 50 individual practices, the Accountable Care Coalition of North Texas renewed its contract with CMS' Medicare Shared Savings Program in January. [READ MORE]
Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Texas (Houston). Comprised of 118 providers, the Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Texas was chosen this year to participate in CMS' newest ACO program, the Next Generation Model. [READ MORE]
Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin (Milwaukee). One of just six Track 2 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs, the Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin earned $8.67 million in shared savings in its first performance year and $4.43 million in its second performance year in 2014. [READ MORE]
Accountable Care Collaborative (Colorado). Colorado is home to the longest-standing Medicaid ACO, according to The Commonwealth Fund. [READ MORE]
Accountable Care Options (Boynton Beach, Fla.). During its first year of operations in 2012, Accountable Care Options ACO saved more than $1,400 per beneficiary in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. [READ MORE]
Advocate Health Care (Downers Grove, Ill.). Advocate first began testing the ACO waters in a 2010 value-based contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. [READ MORE]
Aledade (Bethesda, Md.). Aledade, a startup launched by former National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari, MD, is dedicated to helping independent physicians launch ACOs. [READ MORE]
Alegent Health Partners (Omaha, Neb.). In its third year in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, Alegent Health Partners is participating in Track 3, the option that includes the most risk and reward. [READ MORE]
Allina Health (Minneapolis). Allina Health ACO, one of the original 32 Pioneer ACOs, is now one of nine left in the program. [READ MORE]
AMITA Health Accountable Care Organization (Arlington Heights, Ill.). Over the past few years, AMITA Health ACO, previously known as Alexian Brothers ACO, has been involved in a host of accountable care arrangements. [READ MORE]
Atrius Health (Newton, Mass.). Atrius Health is one of the nine remaining Pioneer ACOs. It has been in the program since its inception in 2012 and now covers roughly 31,000 Medicare beneficiaries. [READ MORE]
Aurora Health Care (Milwaukee). This year, Aurora forged a new accountable care partnership with UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Advantage plans, covering 40,000 people. [READ MORE]
Banner Health Network (Mesa, Ariz.). Banner Health Network, a Pioneer ACO comprised of more than 2,600 Banner-affiliated physicians and 13 acute care Banner hospitals, brought home the most shared savings of all ACOs in the program in 2014. [READ MORE]
Baroma Accountable Care (Miami). Baroma Accountable Care, also known as Baroma Health Partners, is one of 19 ACOs in CMS' newest ACO model, dubbed the Next Generation. [READ MORE]
Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance (Dallas). Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program in January 2015. [READ MORE]
Beacon Health (Brewer, Maine). Beacon Health is the population health arm of the 11-hospital Eastern Maine Health System. [READ MORE]
Bellin Health Partners (Green Bay, Wis.). Bellin Health catapulted into the Next Generation ACO program in January 2016 after three years in the Pioneer program in partnership with another Wisconsin system, ThedaCare. [READ MORE]
Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization (Westwood, Mass.). BIDCO has participated in CMS' Pioneer ACO program since 2012 and is one of the remaining nine. [READ MORE]
BJC HealthCare ACO (St. Louis). BJC HealthCare joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2012. [READ MORE]
Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.). Carilion Clinic's Doctors Connected has been in the Medicare Shared Savings Program since 2013. [READ MORE]
Catholic Medical Partners-Accountable Care IPA (Buffalo, N.Y.). Catholic Medical Partners, an independent practice association, joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2012. [READ MORE]
CHI Health Partners (Omaha, Neb.). CHI Health Partners, which is doing business as TPN Health Partners, is a newly minted Medicare Shared Savings Program as of January. [READ MORE]
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. CHOP's accountable care ventures hold a couple of firsts. [READ MORE]
Christus (Irving, Texas). The faith-based Catholic system, with more than 60 hospitals and long-term care facilities, decided to get some skin in the ACO game this year. [READ MORE]
Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, told The Wall Street Journal in 2012 he didn't want to jump into ACOs too soon. [READ MORE]
Coastal Medical (Providence, R.I.). Coastal Medical, a physician-led medical group serving Massachusetts and Rhode Island, has participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program since 2012. [READ MORE]
Collaborative Health ACO (Natick, Mass.). Collaborative Health ACO embarked on its fourth year in the Medicare Shared Savings Program in January. [READ MORE]
Cornerstone Health Enablement Strategic Solutions (High Point, N.C.). CHESS, a physician-led healthcare services company owned by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Cornerstone Health Care in High Point, joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2015. [READ MORE]
Deaconess Care Integration (Evansville, Ind.). Deaconess Care Integration got its start with Medicare ACOs in 2012 when it joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program. [READ MORE]
DeKalb PHO (Decatur, Ga.) The nonprofit DeKalb Physician Hospital Organization has seen a flurry of ACO activity so far this year. [READ MORE]
Delaware Valley ACO (Villanova, Pa.). Delaware Valley ACO joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2014, and in its first performance year saw significant success. [READ MORE]
Dignity Health (San Francisco). Dignity Health was an early ACO adopter. It operated a pilot ACO program in 2009 with Blue Shield of California and San Ramon, Calif.-based Hill Physicians Medical Group for roughly 44,000 state employees. [READ MORE]
Essentia Health (Duluth, Minn.). Essentia Health launched a Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO in July 2012, and within a year it became one of the first six ACOs in the nation to earn Level 2 ACO designation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. [READ MORE]
Fairview Health Services (Minneapolis). Fairview joined the Pioneer program in 2012 and serves more than 13,000 Medicare patients through the program. [READ MORE]
Franciscan Alliance (Mishawaka, Ind.). Franciscan Alliance launched an ACO with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana in July 2014 that covered 60,000 patients. [READ MORE]
Genesis HealthCare ACO (Kennett Square, Pa.). Genesis HealthCare joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program in January and serves nine states: Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. [READ MORE]
Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Asthe result of the newly minted merger between Hackensack University Health Network and Meridian Health in New Jersey, Hackensack Meridian Health has an impressive combined portfolio of ACOs. [READ MORE]
Health Choice Preferred (Phoenix). Health Choice Preferred is a subsidiary of IASIS Healthcare, a 16-hospital system based in Franklin, Tenn. [READ MORE]
Henry Ford Physician ACO (Detroit). Henry Ford Health System carefully evaluated ACO opportunities for several years before diving in, according to Charles Kelly, DO, president and CEO of Henry Ford Physician Network. [READ MORE]
Heritage California ACO (Northridge, Calif.). Heritage California ACO is operated by the Heritage Provider Network, which includes 10 medical groups and independent physician associations in southern, central and coastal California. [READ MORE]
HSHS ACO (Springfield, Ill.). Hospital Sisters Health System was among 100 other newcomers to the Medicare Shared Savings Program in January. [READ MORE]
Integrated Health Network of Wisconsin (Brookfield). IHN launched Wisconsin's first clinically integrated ACO in 2010 under the name Quality Health Solutions. [READ MORE]
Iowa Health Accountable Care (West Des Moines). Iowa Health Accountable Care, which does business as UnityPoint Health Partners, has a record of ACO experience. [READ MORE]
John Muir Health (Walnut Creek, Calif.). After trying its hand at the Medicare Shared Savings Program for three years — with success, splitting $20.7 million in savings with CMS over two years — John Muir Health chose to leave the program for a Medicare Advantage HMO program and other commercial ACO contracts. [READ MORE]
Johns Hopkins Medicine Alliance for Patients (Glen Burnie, Md.). JMAP has been in the Medicare Shared Savings Program since January 2014. [READ MORE]
KentuckyOne Health Partners (Louisville, Ky.). KentuckyOne started in the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2013. [READ MORE]
Lahey Clinical Performance ACO (Beverly, Mass.). Lahey Clinical Performance ACO is in its fourth year in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. [READ MORE]
Maryland Collaborative Care (Silver Spring, Md.). Maryland Collaborative Care is a Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO managed by White Plains, N.Y.-based Collaborative Health Systems, a subsidiary of Universal American. [READ MORE]
MedStar Accountable Care (Baltimore). MedStar Accountable Care is affiliated with MedStar Health, a 10-hospital system in the Washington, D.C., area. [READ MORE]
Memorial Hermann ACO (Houston). Since July 2012, Memorial Hermann has participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. [READ MORE]
MemorialCare Regional ACO (Fountain Valley, Calif.). Anthem Blue Cross and MemorialCare Medical Foundation formed an ACO in 2014 focused on coordinated treatment for patients in Orange County with chronic diseases. [READ MORE]
Mercy ACO (Des Moines, Iowa). Mercy ACO was formed in 2012 by Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa. [READ MORE]
Mercy Health Select (Cincinnati). CMS selected Mercy Health Select for its Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2014, shortly after the ACO launched a commercial contract with Humana. [READ MORE]
Michigan Pioneer ACO (Southfield, Mich.). Affiliated with Detroit Medical Center, Michigan Pioneer ACO is one of nine remaining participants in CMS' Pioneer program. [READ MORE]
Millennium ACO (Fort Myers, Fla.). Millennium Physician Group and ProCare Med formed an ACO in 2013 to treat Medicare beneficiaries across southwest Florida. [READ MORE]
MissionPoint Health Partners (Nashville). Founded by Saint Thomas Health in Nashville, MissionPoint Health Partners joined CMS' Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2012. [READ MORE]
Monarch HealthCare ACO (Irvine, Calif.). Monarch HealthCare ACO serves approximately 176,000 Orange County residents. [READ MORE]
Montefiore ACO (Bronx, N.Y.). Despite serving one of the most densely populated, low-income communities in the United States, Montefiore ACO is one of the more successful and progressive healthcare providers in the Pioneer ACO program. [READ MORE]
Mosaic Life Care (St. Joseph, Mo.). The Mosaic Life Care ACO launched in 2012 with a total of 29,000 patients. [READ MORE]
Mount Sinai Health System (New York City). Mount Sinai Health Partners, a clinically integrated network including providers and Mount Sinai Health System, partnered with Aetna to form an ACO in February 2016. [READ MORE]
National ACO (Beverly Hills, Calif.). National ACO is a multi-state, physician-owned and operated ACO. [READ MORE]
National Rural ACO (Nevada City, Calif.). NRACO became a MSSP ACO in 2014 and is comprised of nine rural hospital members, some of them critical access facilities, spread across different regions of the country — California, Indiana and Michigan. [READ MORE]
NH Accountable Care Partners (Concord, N.H.). Dover, N.H.-based Wentworth-Douglas Hospital and Southern New Hampshire Health System in Nashua joined Concord (N.H.) Hospital and Manchester, N.H.-based Elliot Hospital in an accountable care organization in 2014. [READ MORE]
Northwell Health (Great Neck, N.Y.). Building on a two-decade relationship, Great Neck, N.Y.-based Northwell Health and New York-based EmblemHealth struck a collaborative care agreement in 2016 for the insurer's 3.1 million members across the New York tristate area. [READ MORE]
Northwestern Medicine (Chicago). Northwestern Medicine, a collaboration between four-hospital Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, launched an ACO with Cigna in 2015. [READ MORE]
Oakwood ACO (Dearborn, Mich.) Oakwood ACO started with a bang, generating $17 million in Medicare savings during its first 18 months in operation, from July 2012 to December 2013. [READ MORE]
OneCare Vermont (Colchester, Vt.). Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, N.H., and the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington launched OneCare Vermont in 2013. [READ MORE]
Optum ACO (Phoenix). Formed in 2014, Optum ACO is the collaboration between Phoenix-based Banner Health Network and UnitedHealthcare. [READ MORE]
Orlando (Fla.) Health. Orlando Health ACO is a collaboration between Orlando Health, which includes Orlando Health Physician Partners, and health insurer Florida Blue. [READ MORE]
OSF Healthcare System (Peoria, Ill.). OSF Healthcare System created an ACO under the Pioneer model in 2012 and landed its first commercial accountable care agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for 40,000 beneficiaries in 2013. [READ MORE]
Palm Beach ACO (Palm Springs, Fla.). Palm Beach ACO began the Medicare Shared Savings Program in July 2012. [READ MORE]
Park Nicollet Health Services (St. Louis Park, Minn.). Park Nicollet became one of the first of 32 Pioneer ACOs in 2012, but only after taking part in the five-year Physician Group Practice Demonstration, CMS' first Medicare pay-for-performance initiative for physicians. [READ MORE]
Partners ACO (Needham, Mass.). Partners HealthCare's Pioneer ACO, Partners Community Healthcare, has 4,057 physicians. [READ MORE]
Partners for Kids (Columbus, Ohio). Formed in 1994, Partners for Kids is one of the oldest ACOs in the country. [READ MORE]
Physician Organization of Michigan ACO (Ann Arbor, Mich.). In January 2013, POM ACO joined CMS' Medicare Shared Savings Program. [READ MORE]
Pioneer Valley Accountable Care (Springfield, Mass.). Pioneer Valley Accountable Care, a Next Generation ACO, is affiliated with Springfield-based Baycare Health Partners, a physician hospital organization. [READ MORE]
ProHEALTH Accountable Care Medical Group (Lake Success, N.Y.). As one of the largest integrated physician group practices in the New York metropolitan area, ProHealth Care Associates was in an ideal position to launch an ACO in 2012. [READ MORE]
ProMedica Health Network (Toledo, Ohio). ProMedica Health Network joined CMS' Medicare Shared Savings Program in January 1. Its primary service areas include Michigan and Ohio. [READ MORE]
Prospect ACO CA (Los Angeles). Prospect ACO CA is a subsidiary of Prospect Medical Holdings, which operates 13 acute care and behavioral hospitals in southern California, South Central Texas and Rhode Island. [READ MORE]
Qualuable Medical Professionals (Kingsport, Tenn.). A Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO, Qualuable Medical Professionals attained ACO status in February 2013. [READ MORE]
Rio Grande Valley ACO Health Providers (Donna, Texas). RGV ACO Health Providers is made up of clinics and physicians throughout four central and south Texas counties and one New Jersey county. [READ MORE]
Rio Grande Valley Health Alliance (McAllen, Texas). In 2011, Luis Delgado Jr., MD, attended the Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Family Physicians, where he heard a presentation on ACOs by Julian "Bo" Bobbitt Jr. [READ MORE]
Robert Wood Johnson Partners (New Brunswick, N.J.). With more than 500 subspecialty physicians and more than 200 primary care clinicians, Robert Wood Johnson Partners is a collaboration between Rutgers University and Robert Wood Johnson University Health System. [READ MORE]
Rush Health Chicago. In October 2015, Aetna and Rush Health revealed plans to launch Aetna Whole Health Chicago, a commercial ACO that allows Aetna beneficiaries to decide whether they'd like to be part of the program. [READ MORE]
Scripps Health (San Diego). In 2011, Scripps Health and North American Medical Management created an organization similar to an ACO: the Scripps Integrated Delivery Network, which included seven physician groups. [READ MORE]
SERPA-ACO (Crete, Neb.). Nine practices joined together to launch SERPA-ACO in January 2013. [READ MORE]
Steward Promise ACO (Boston). Steward Health Care Network's Pioneer ACO was Steward Promise. [READ MORE]
Summa Health – NewHealth Collaborative (Akron, Ohio). NewHealth Collaborative launched in 2012 as an ACO within the Medicare Shared Savings Program. [READ MORE]
Tenet Healthcare (Dallas). Tenet's ACOs span the country, making the health system a nationwide leader in accountable care. [READ MORE]
Texas Health Resources (Arlington). In 2012, Texas Health Resources and North Texas Specialty Physicians formed a Pioneer ACO Plus, but it departed from the program the next year. [READ MORE]
ThedaCare ACO (Appleton, Wis.). ThedaCare and Bellin Health initially operated a collaborative ACO called Bellin-ThedaCare Healthcare Partners, which ranked No. 1 among Pioneer participants with a quality score of 94.11 in 2014. [READ MORE]
Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Integrated Physicians. Torrance Memorial Integrated Physicians is affiliated with Torrance Memorial Medical Center, a nonprofit hospital south of Los Angeles. [READ MORE]
Triad HealthCare Network (Greensboro, N.C.). A collaboration between Greensboro-based Cone Health System and local physicians, Triad Health Care Network became part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2012. [READ MORE]
Trinity Health ACO (Livonia, Mich.). Trinity Health ACO is a collaboration between Affinia Health Network, Lourdes Health Network, Loyola Physician Partners, Mount Carmel Health Partners and Summit Medical Group. [READ MORE]
University Hospitals (Cleveland). University Hospitals operates three key ACOs: a Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO, a pediatric ACO and an employee ACO. [READ MORE]
UW Health ACO (Madison, Wis.). Launched in January 2013, UW Health ACO is a partnership between UW Health physicians, hospitals, clinics and the medical school. [READ MORE]
Virginia Collaborative Care (Houston). Virginia Collaborative Care launched in 2013. [READ MORE]
WakeMed Key Community Care (Raleigh, N.C.). Since 2014, WakeMed Key Community Care has participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. [READ MORE]
Weill Cornell Physician Organization (New York City). Weill Cornell Physician Organization still stands today as New York City's first ACO between a health plan and physician organization. [READ MORE]
WellStar Health Network ACO (Marietta, Ga.). WellStar Health Network was selected to begin the Medicare Shared Savings Program in July 2012, and it renewed its contract this year in Track 1 of the program. [READ MORE]
West Florida ACO (Trinity, Fla.). Formed by a group of independent physician practices, West Florida ACO was one of the first 27 ACOs to join the Medicare Shared Savings Program in April 2012. [READ MORE]
Update: Becker's Hospital Review added National ACO to the list of 100 ACOs to Know | 2016 on Sept. 6, 2016. The version of this list in the print issue does not include this addition.