February 2012 | Joel C. Cantor | Opinion: A Tale of Two ACOs
It is the hottest new acronym in healthcare – ACO – or accountable care organization. A centerpiece of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the ACO concept is one of the few significant pieces of the reform law that is designed to truly bend the cost curve. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the Affordable Care Act will reduce the federal deficit even as it extends coverage to over 30 million uninsured. But it achieves this largely by cutting rate increases for some Medicare providers and Advantage plans and raising new revenue.