Medicare ACO participation grows in 2024: CMS.

According to new data released by federal regulators, accountable care organizations (ACOs) in traditional Medicare are thriving, with a 3% increase in participation from 2023. Roughly 13.7 million Medicare patients, almost half of beneficiaries on traditional Medicare, are now in ACOs, and the number of participating providers has also increased. ACOs have been shown to produce better outcomes and savings for Medicare's trust fund. However, while progress has been made towards the Biden administration's goal of bringing all 34 million beneficiaries into value-based arrangements by 2030, growth in Medicare Shared Savings, the flagship accountable care program, has been stagnant. The CMS has made efforts to revitalize interest among providers, but participation has not increased as expected. The CMS also reported increased participation in other programs, such as Kidney Care Choices and ACO REACH, which aims to improve care for underserved populations. The National Association of ACOs expressed satisfaction with the growth in CMS programs but emphasized the need for further improvements, including less strenuous quality reporting requirements. [Extracted from the article]