Seven of the eleven Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requesting that CMS withdraw the proposed Accountable Care Organization (ACO) rule. The letter highlights concerns many health care organizations and institutions have expressed with the rule. The Republican senators believe the problems with the proposed rule are so great, that the best course of action would be CMS withdrawing the rule and redesigning a new rule with those concerns in mind.
In the letter, the senators say, “In principle, the model of an ACO still holds promise. To truly improve the Medicare program for the beneficiaries of today and tomorrow, more ACO-like coordination and collaboration among providers and beneficiaries is undoubtedly a worthwhile goal. An ACO model that can increase provider coordination and patient accountability would be a step in the right direction compared with today’s fragmented delivery system. However, it is increasingly clear this proposed rule misses the target.”
Click here to read the entire letter.