What are Accountable Care Organizations and are They Really Going to Help?
What are Accountable Care Organizations: and Are They Really Going to Help? Park University: HA 604, Health Care Economics and Payment Systems
Abstract
In the 1980s and 1990s Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) were the next big thing in the health care community. At the time, this form of health insurance was believed to be end all solution to high, and getting higher health care costs. The Government quickly started using HMOs and its different forms for their federally funded health insurance companies of Medicare and Medicaid. Thirty years have passed since the hay day of HMOs, and the U.S. Government has deemed that HMOs are just not working any more, the cost of health care continues raise, and we need to fix the problem. What is the solution? Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)! To many people, these organizations are just HMOs with bright red lipstick, but nothing else has really changed. Let’s call it an HMO hybrid. This paper takes a closer look at ACOs, their history, track record, and views from leading authorities on their effectiveness. The paper will also give topics of consideration that all physicians should look into, before deciding if they should join an HMO with lipstick. I mean an ACO.
Insert Paper Title Here During the 1970s- and early 1990s, Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) dominated the face of health care. They were an attempt by the government and insurance agencies to help reduce the rising and expensive costs of healthcare. In some ways these plans were effective, and in others they were not. MCOs are still very present today in health care, however the bill known as the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) included plans to change the face of MCOs as we now know them. In order to do so, plans have been made to form and introduce Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). This plan has been described as being just another integrated delivery system linking physicians together
Abstract
In the 1980s and 1990s Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) were the next big thing in the health care community. At the time, this form of health insurance was believed to be end all solution to high, and getting higher health care costs. The Government quickly started using HMOs and its different forms for their federally funded health insurance companies of Medicare and Medicaid. Thirty years have passed since the hay day of HMOs, and the U.S. Government has deemed that HMOs are just not working any more, the cost of health care continues raise, and we need to fix the problem. What is the solution? Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)! To many people, these organizations are just HMOs with bright red lipstick, but nothing else has really changed. Let’s call it an HMO hybrid. This paper takes a closer look at ACOs, their history, track record, and views from leading authorities on their effectiveness. The paper will also give topics of consideration that all physicians should look into, before deciding if they should join an HMO with lipstick. I mean an ACO.
Insert Paper Title Here During the 1970s- and early 1990s, Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) dominated the face of health care. They were an attempt by the government and insurance agencies to help reduce the rising and expensive costs of healthcare. In some ways these plans were effective, and in others they were not. MCOs are still very present today in health care, however the bill known as the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) included plans to change the face of MCOs as we now know them. In order to do so, plans have been made to form and introduce Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). This plan has been described as being just another integrated delivery system linking physicians together