Contributor: Lyda Phillips
Topic: Accountable Care Organizations and Antritrust

Overlooked in the excitement of the March 31 release of accountable care organization rules was a document outlining what factors in an ACO would prompt federal antitrust investigations. Some ACOs will be given a green light. The enforcement policy from the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice creates a “safety zone” that exempts from antitrust review ACOs whose providers control 30 percent or less of the market in their primary service area. 
 

Contributor: Bill Melville
Topic: Accountable Care Organizations

The feds waited until the last day of the first quarter to drop healthcare’s most anticipated set of regulations. Accountable care organizations have a little more structure now, although most decisions still lie with providers.

Contributor: Sheri Sellmeyer
Topic: Accountable Care Organizations

The joke around healthcare conferences these days is that accountable care organizations are like unicorns – everyone has heard of them, but nobody has seen one. Almost every week we hear of a new ACO being formed, as physicians and hospitals team up to prepare for this new reimbursement model, scheduled to debut in 2012.