A Flash For the Policy Wonks Pushing ACOs

The Health Care Blog: Why ACOs Won't Work.

"Here’s a flash for the policy wonks pushing ACOs: They only work if the provider gets paid less for the same patient population. Why would they be dumb enough to voluntarily accept that outcome?

"Oh, there will be some providers—particularly hospital administrators—who can’t wait to build an ACO but probably more because they want another excuse to corner the primary care docs as a marketing channel for their growing system. But spend millions to develop an ACO so they can get less money? Only in the policy wonk netherland does that compute."

ACOs or not, we're heading for an era where declining reimbursement meets increasing demand, where value and productivity are the keys to survival.

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