FierceHealthcare reports that new data suggest  that Accountable Care Organizations are adapting to the need to take on more   financial risk. But, the news service adds, “Reducing costs and managing population health remain key challenges, … prompting an investment in add-on technologies like population analytics.”

The National Association of ACOs and Leavitt Partners surveyed 240 organizations and found that ACOs across the board plan to participate in “at-risk arrangements.” Nearly half have chosen  shared savings and losses, with another 38 percent picking capitation-based agreements.

Meanwhile, the number and sophistication of ACO contracts have  expanded, the report says. This includes ACO providers following alternative value-based payment methodologies in parallel.  Fierce reports that ACOs seem to have been particularly attracted to the patient-centered medical home model, “present in 86 percent of the organizations surveyed. The survey also noted satisfaction with bundled payment models in some areas of care.”

To read the Health Affairs blog entry, please hit this link.

To read the FierceHealthcare article, please hit this link.