Reports on Insurance Findings from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Provide New Insights (Medicare Accountable Care Organization Characteristics Associated With Participation In 2-sided Risk): Insurance

2022 JUN 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators discuss new findings in Insurance. According to news reporting originating in Los Angeles, California, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To examine the associations of accountable care organization (ACO) characteristics with the likelihood of participation in 2-sided risk tracks in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP). CMS ACO Public Use Files and Provider-Level Research Identifiable Files were used to trace Medicare ACOs’ participation in the SSP between 2012 and 2020 and measure ACO characteristics, including size, rurality of the service area, affiliation with supporting organizations, program experience, and performance.”

Financial supporters for this research include US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), United States Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA).

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), “Logistic regression and survival analysis were used to test the associations between ACO characteristics and the probability of ACOs initially participating in or subsequently switching to 2-sided risk tracks. Among the 624 Medicare SSP ACOs that started between 2012 and 2017, 26 participated in 2-sided risk tracks in their initial contracts and 95 switched to 2-sided risk tracks subsequently. ACO characteristics were not significantly associated with the probability of participating in 2-sided risk tracks in initial contracts. ACO size, affiliation with supporting organizations, and performance were positively associated with the likelihood of switching to 2-sided risk. Rural ACOs were less likely to switch to 2-sided risk than their urban counterparts.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Small and rural ACOs are less prepared to transition into 2-sided risk swiftly.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Medicare Accountable Care Organization Characteristics Associated With Participation In 2-sided Risk. The Journal of Rural Health, 2022. The Journal of Rural Health can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Xi Zhu, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Fielding School of Public Health, Dept. of Health Policy and Management, 650 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States. Additional authors for this research include Huang Huang, A. Clinton MacKinney, Fred Ullrich and Keith Mueller.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12672. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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