NY County Medical Society Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) Presentation

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs): What They Are, What They Are Not and What They May Be

Monday, February 28, 2011, 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Hospital for Special Surgery (Conference Room C), 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY

The ACO, authorized by the 2010 healthcare reform act, is a new provider configuration the government thinks may have great potential - to boost quality, help cut costs and put physicians in a key decision-making role. Big savings and bonuses may be possible for ACOs. But will physicians control ACOs - or will control be taken over by the hospitals? What should physicians be doing right now?
With presentations by Kern Augustine attorney Donald Moy (who's also Counsel to MSSNY) and ACO expert Marion Davis - followed by a panel discussion with NYCMS physician leaders Scot Glasberg MD and Michael Goldstein MD, and NYCMS counsel Scott Einiger.
The ACO will take global responsibility for the care of a specific group of Medicare patients, all the way from initial office visits through hospital stays.
- Will the old problems of capitation creep in again?
- Will shared savings and bonuses actually materialize - now that Congress is talking about dismantling parts of the healthcare reform law?
- Will all Medicare beneficiaries be routed into ACOs? What will happen to primary care physicians who aren't part of ACOs?
- Are clinical guidelines well enough developed? And are physicians ready to collaborate on this level?
- Huge, powerful IT systems will be needed. Can the physician-run ACO afford to buy and maintain those systems? (Remember: Hospitals have cheaper access to capital.)
- The physician-run ACO will be a network, with primary care physicians in decision-making roles. The goal: To minimize unnecessary specialty care. What will happen to specialists?
- What will the insurers do? Will they all switch over to the new ACO-oriented payment model at the same time?
- What if the public blames physicians for withholding or rationing care?
- Should physicians rush to form and join ACOs? What might be some pitfalls?

Be sure to join us for this discussion! Sign up as soon as possible: "Accountable Care Organizations: What They Are, What They Are Not, and What They May Be," in Conference Room C, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th, New York, NY, on Monday, February 28, 2010. Registration 5:30 p.m.; program 6:00 p.m.

Register by calling Lisa Joseph at 212-684-4670, ext. 222, or e-mailing ljoseph@nycms.org