On October 20, 2011, CMS released its much anticipated final ACO rule in time to garner participation before the January 1, 2012 statutory deadline. After the proposed rule met with little interest from providers to develop ACOs, CMS now focuses on the themes of flexibility, accountability and innovation in the final rule. The 650 plus page final ACO rule provides incentives to health care providers to bridge the gap in the currently fragmented health care system to bring high quality, low cost care to patients.
Ober|Kaler's ACO Team presented a 90-minute webinar exploring the changes in the final ACO Rule, as well as how they relate to the fraud and abuse, antitrust, privacy and tax issues. The ACO Team discussed how ACOs and recent CMS Innovation Center programs seek to transform the direction of health care reimbursement and care delivery in this upcoming election year.