Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have been mandated under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, otherwise known as Obamacare. As with so much of this law, it remains to be seen if ACOs fully live up to their intended high-minded potential. As a linking doctors and hospitals with the stated aim of keeping costs low and quality of service high, it appears on the surface that ACOs will have a positive impact on health care nationwide.
In the recent history of healthcare, we have too often seen physicians ordering unnecessary and expensive procedures in order to keep on top of their game and be seen as top money makers for their respective hospitals and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). This approach, even with the best of doctors who sincerely
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Like HMOs, the lynchpin in the ACO will be the primary care physician. However, unlike the current system, the network of doctors and hospitals will be rewarded for keeping costs low while providing the best possible service to patients. Indeed, bonuses will be paid to members of ACOs who manage to adhere to this decree. For those hospitals and doctors who already have a favorable balance of low cost and excellent care, the ACO model should prove easy to move into and would, in fact, compliment an already existing system. For those who are not performing to the standards of this mandate, the ACO requirement will offer encouragement – prodding, even – to conform to the higher set of standards. It thus appears, on paper and in theory at least, that the ACO model will be a win-win for providers and patients alike. Yet the reality seldom conforms to …show more content…
This is a question that is fundamental to the Affordable Care Act; a law that remains at the heart highly controversial despite one's political or economic inclinations. Will government mandate ACOs function as they are intended? It is clear that the funds available to reward physicians and hospitals for the combination of low costs and high-quality care will originate with the American taxpayer. There exists a danger, therefore, of a well-intended program being held hostage to political considerations. Will Congress supply the appropriate funding? What of possible reversals of other key elements of the ACA by the Supreme Court? What would be the ramifications of a new presidential administration repealing Obamacare in conjunction with a pliant Congress? Further, how would physicians and hospitals proceed with such basic and fundamental questions hanging over their heads like a proverbial Sword of Damocles? It is highly possible that the members of ACOs will find themselves in such a predicament. Indeed, they may even find themselves disbanded under a future governing coalition. The sheer uncertainty about the future of the ACA leaves much in doubt, including the viability of the ACO