Medicare Urged to Provide More Virus Help for Care Networks (1)

Nine leading health-care organizations are asking the Trump administration to provide additional pandemic-related support for groups of doctors and hospitals that provide coordinated care in traditional Medicare.

The 517 provider groups, known as accountable care organizations, are helping traditional Medicare move from a fee-for-service payment model to value-based care, in which provider reimbursement is based on patient outcomes rather than volume of services.

When ACOs improve beneficiary health and lower costs for the Medicare program, they share in the savings. But 192 ACOs take “downside” financial risk for cost increases, meaning they could also lose revenue and be required to ...