Cardiologist Participation in Accountable Care Organizations and Changes in Spending and Quality for Medicare Patients With Cardiovascular Disease.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite widespread adoption of Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs), healthcare spending reductions have been modest. This may relate to variable participation in ACOs by specialist physicians, who disproportionately drive spending. To examine whether specialist participation in Medicare ACOs was associated with changes in healthcare spending and clinical quality, we analyzed national Medicare data.

Methods and results

Working with a 20% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries (2008 to 2015), we identified those with cardiovascular disease. We estimated linear regression models at the beneficiary-quarter level to evaluate changes in healthcare spending and clinical quality after the start of the Shared Savings Program in 2012. We then examined whether ch

SUBMITTER: Sukul D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6750277 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature