Abstract
Though accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly important to American healthcare, ethical inquiry into ACOs remains in its nascent stages. Several articles have raised the concern that ACOs have an incentive to avoid enrolling high-cost patients and, thereby, have an incentive to deny care to those who need it the most. This concern is borne out by the reports of consultants working with newly formed ACOs. This paper argues that, contra initial appearances, there is no financial incentive for ACOs to avoid enrolling high-cost patients.
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Search performed on March 14th, 2017.
Estimates based on the performance of Oakwood Accountable Care Organization.
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Graber, A., Carter, S., Bhandary, A. et al. The Case for Enrolling High-Cost Patients in an ACO. HEC Forum 29, 359–365 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-017-9333-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-017-9333-4