The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the Medicare Shared Savings Program, through its work with Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) – groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers — saved Medicare money while continuing to deliver high-quality care. Specifically, the program saved Medicare $1.66 billion in 2021 compared to spending targets. This marks the fifth consecutive year the program has generated overall savings and high-quality performance results.
Shared Savings Program ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who collaborate to give coordinated high-quality care to people with Medicare, focusing on delivering the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary services and medical errors. When an ACO succeeds in both delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars more wisely, the ACO may be eligible to share in the savings it achieves for the Medicare program (also known as performance payments).
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