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ACOs may reduce costs but could widen healthcare disparities
Thursday, 28 April 2011 16:11

ACOs may reduce costs but could widen healthcare disparitiesA recent commentary that appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association claims that although accountable care organizations (ACOs) can result in significant cost savings and other benefits, these networks could potentially exclude minorities and widen gaps in healthcare.

The fundamental concept of an ACO lies in rewarding physicians for the quality of the services that they provide. Collaborative efforts among practices and hospitals aim to reduce expenses, improve patient outcomes and optimize care coordination. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act stipulates that an ACO must provide all levels of care for at least 5,000 Medicare beneficiaries.

However, Craig Pollack, a physician at Johns Hopkins University, said that one drawback to the ACO model may be that wealthy hospitals will partner with institutions and groups of similar financial status, thus avoiding populations with more low-income and minority individuals.

"There is ample evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare," Pollack explained. "Hospitals and private practices that care for greater numbers of minorities tend to have larger populations of Medicaid and uninsured patients."

He added that these individuals may have more limited access to specialists, and the hospitals and practices that they utilize often have fewer institutional resources.
 

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