A program that rewards or punishes health care providers for providing better, cheaper care is expanding. The federal government announced 89 new organizations this week, including five in Florida.
Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, are groups of doctors and hospitals which agree to coordinate care for Medicare patients.
If they save money, the ACOs then split the savings with the federal government.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week announced 89 new ACOs. That brings the total to 424 across the U.S.
Nearly 8 million seniors get care from ACOs now, and the program has saved the federal government $417 million since 2012, CMS said.
Check here for a list of all 89 new ACOs, and see below for a listing of the new Florida ACOs:
BayCare Physician Partners ACO, LLC
Service Area: Florida, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk and Pasco counties.
ACO Executive: Dr. Bruce Flareau
Contact: (727) 519-1252; bruce.flareau@baycare.org
Number served: More than 40,000
Holy Cross Physician Partners ACO LLC
Service Area: Florida
ACO Executive: Kenneth Homer
Contact: (954) 351-5984; kenneth.homer@holy-cross.com
Orange Accountable Care of New York
Service Area: Florida, New Jersey, New York
ACO Executive: Ms. Lissette Exposito
Contact: (305) 992-4338; lexposito@orangeacosfl.com
USMM ACCOUNTABLE CARE PARTNERS LLC
Service Area: Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin
ACO Executive: Mr. David Berman
Contact: (248) 824-6399; dberman@usmmllc.com
Physicians ACO LLC
Service Area: Florida
ACO Executive: Mr. Louis Morgenier
Contact: (561) 346-7796; Lmorgenier@healthcaredevelopment.com
-- Health News Florida reporter Abe Aboraya is part of WMFE in Orlando. Contact him at (407) 273-2300 x 183, on Twitter @AbeAboraya, or email at aaboraya@wmfe.org. Health News Florida receives support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
