Dive Brief:

• A former CMS official told an ACO Summit in Washington, D.C. June 19 that to make implementation of accountable care organizations work requires shifting quickly to global payments, and making sure that captured data is translated into better practices.
• Organizations need cultural alignment among people delivering care as well as those receiving it, and organizations must translate collected information into data for decision-making — decisions which then have to be enforced, said Leonard Schaeffer, a senior adviser at TPG Capital. Schaeffer was WellPoint's founding chairman and CEO and is a former Medicare and Medicaid administrator.
• Schaeffer asserted that the likelihood of ACOs' success depends upon how quickly the industry can move away from fee-for-service to global payments.

Dive Insight:

Shaeffer's comments came amid another flurry of activity surrounding ACO formation and collaborative care agreements across the U.S. That includes a partnership between UC San Diego Health System and Humana Inc. on an ACO for Humana's Medicare Advantage members in San Diego.