The financial highs and lows of Pioneer ACOs

The trail blazed by Pioneer accountable care organizations (ACOs) is bumpier for some ACOs than for others, according to financial data released Thursday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Of the 32 original Pioneer ACOs, 18 reported gross savings in the first year. The best-performing ACO that year was Montefiore ACO in the Bronx, New York, which reported savings of $23.3 million, or 7.1 percent, and $14 million in shared savings.

But 14 posted losses in the first year. The highest losses were posted by Fort Worth-based Plus! / North Texas ACO, with a loss of $9.31 million, or 5.2 percent.

The results "provide insight into why 12 of the ACOs exited the program," Becker's Hospital Review wrote.

Second-year results are more difficult to determine because three ACOs deferred reconciliation until the end of the third year, and nine dropped out of the program by that point. Since August, four more dropped out, leaving just 19 Pioneer ACOs.d lows of Pioneer ACOs