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Accountable care is one of seven broad categories of innovation models testing new payment and service delivery models under the national Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which strives to meet the Triple Aim—better health care for patients, better health for communities, and lower costs for the health care system.
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are groups of health care providers that accept financial risk for the total cost of care delivered to a defined population. ACOs financially encourage providers to keep a population of patients healthy at a lower cost by improving efficiency and coordination of care. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services initially developed the ACO model for the Medicare population, but ACOs frequently provide services for Medicaid programs and private payers, as well.
This Jargon Buster was contributed by the Georgia Health Policy Center.
