Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), part of a new model of health care delivery designed to address costs and quality, are receiving considerable attention in the health care industry, observes Foley Partner Fred Geilfuss. He states that under the ACO model providers become more accountable for the care provided evident by the fact that they are reimbursed for services based on delivery of quality care and achievement of better outcomes vs. being paid based on the performance of more procedures and tests. Geilfuss adds that as ACOs continue to develop, businesses and individual consumers will be faced with learning to access the health care system through these new models.
