Pathways To Success: A New Start For Medicare’s Accountable Care Organizations

For many years we have heard health care policymakers from both political parties opine about the need to move to a health care system that pays for the value of care delivered to patients, rather than the mere volume of services.  While disagreements may arise on how we get to value, the need for this transformation is not in dispute.

This need is born from the reality that our health care spending is growing at an unsustainable rate.  If we continue on our present path, by 2026 we will be spending one in every five dollars on health care.  This will crowd out other public funding priorities like public safety, infrastructure, national defense, and education. It will also strain small businesses, preventing them from investing in growth or creating new jobs.  And finally it will lead to higher premiums, copays, and deductibles that will hit every American’s household budget.

From the moment I became Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), I have been committed to using every tool at my disposal to move our health care system towards value-based care.  This is not only a priority for CMS, but under the leadership of Secretary Azar and President Trump, the entire administration is aligned towards achieving this goal.