Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the most recent data on Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), showing that the program reduced total Medicare spending for the sixth year in a row. Most notably, the data demonstrated that primary care providers are highly effective at controlling overall patient costs. Among ACOs that achieved savings, those that included medium or large hospitals averaged $140 per capita in net savings, while those whose members were at least 75% primary care clinicians saw $294 in per capita savings – over twice as much. CMS stated, “These results underscore how important primary care is to the success of the Shared Savings Program.”
