Recent data shows the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization program saved Medicare $559 million in 2019. This data comes as the program’s future is not clear. Additionally, however, the number of ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program shrank to 477, down from 561 in 2018.
Next Generation ACOs Saved Money
The Next Generation Accountable Care Organization program saved Medicare $559 million in 2019 as the program’s future remains in doubt. The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) released an analysis on the model’s savings in January. The group has been pressing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make permanent the program that calls on ACOs to take on more financial risk.
“These figures are impressive especially considering this data accounts for only 37 of the 41 Next Gen ACOs participating in 2019,” NAACOS said in a release Wednesday.
But MSSP ACO Participation Declines
The number of accountable care organizations participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program this year shrank to 477, down from 561 in 2018, new data shows. The National Association of ACOs blamed several Trump administration policies for the decline and pressed for the Biden administration to boost participation. The new administration needs to “re-examine the balance of incentives and risk to ensure ACO growth and continued savings to Medicare, which ACOs have a history of producing,” said NAACOS President Clif Gaus in a statement.
The number of ACOs for 2021 is below the ACOs that started with the Trump administration in 2017 (480), according to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the program. ACO participation reached a record high of 561 in 2018 but has declined down to 518 in 2019 and 517 last year, federal data shows. While participation in the program has shifted and declined over the years, ACOs still continue to generate savings for Medicare. The program generated $2.4 billion in gross savings for Medicare in 2019 compared with 1.7 billion in 2018, NAACOS said.