UnitedHealthcare launches physician-led ACO in TX

While this new ACO relationship is UnitedHealthcare's first such in North Texas, the payer has been a leader in moving toward value-based reimbursement models.UnitedHealthcare reports that their physician and hospital reimbursements that are tied to value-based programs have nearly tripled in the last three years to $36 billion annually, and the company projects this number will reach $65 billion by 2018.

Of course, the goal is to both improve care quality while reducing the overall cost of care, and according to UnitedHealthcare's ACO website, they are achieving that, with clinical quality results above program targets on 95% of all measures, and a ROI showing medical cost savings to exceed incentive payout by at least 2:1.