CMS has 2019 Medicare ACO class

This week, the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations lent its congratulations to new ACOs that joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program effective July 1. About 40 new ACOs entered the program, which is less than the 100-plus new ACOs the program averaged in its first seven years. With the 2019 class, the MSSP grew by 400,000 beneficiaries, while prior years have seen growth of more than a million beneficiaries each year. The next opportunity to join will be in January 2020 when the program returns to its typical schedule of ACOs joining at the start of the calendar year. The MSSP is the largest value-based payment program operated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and program results have steadily improved in recent years.