Can Accountable-Care Organizations Improve Health Care While Reducing Costs? (Wall Street Journal)

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are being pitched as the next big thing in medical circles, a possible solution to skyrocketing administrative costs and an outdated fee-for-service model that rewards providers for quanity of care rather than quality. Medicare's main ACO program is launching this year, while many health plans are already working with providers on ACO-style payment models. But what do health policy experts think about this new model? Opinions range from full-fledged support (Dr. Donald Berwick, former CMS administrator) to tempered skepticism (Jeff Goldsmith, president of health care consulting firm Health Futures Inc.) to the belief that the ACO program is just one small step in a system that will ultimately require a much larger overhaul (Tom Scully, partner at Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe, and CMS administrator from 2001-2004).