The 2014 results for the Medicare Shared Savings Program are expected soon. They will offer a long-awaited look at the rapidly expanding federal program's performance.
Last year was the initiative's second evaluation of about 220 accountable care organizations that began in 2012 or 2013. In addition, roughly 120 ACOs started the program in 2014.
For ACOs that entered their second performance year, financial incentives will for the first time be determined in part by quality measures. During the first year, ACOs must simply provide data on quality but are not required to meet performance targets to qualify for bonuses.
The Affordable Care Act authorized the program as a way to overhaul how Medicare pays hospitals and doctors. Results so far have been mixed and some ACOs have threatened to quit. Policymakers have responded by making changes in how the program will operate starting in 2016.
Universal American received its 2014 results last week, but individual performance reports for the company's 25 Medicare ACOs are under embargo until federal officials release data, the company's CEO said during a conference call with analysts.
Universal American was pleased with its results, which totaled $27 million in bonus awards for nine ACOs, said CEO Richard Barasch. The company will invest in more ACOs now that more data can help identify potentially successful targets, he said.
“We've gotten really good at understanding what it takes for an ACO to work, both in terms of how it fits to the program and whether or not the physicians are really motivated to make the kind of changes they need to make in order to be successful,” he said.
