How ACOs Work

This is how Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) typically work:

• Your primary care doctor and other providers who are helping care for you will communicate with each other, and partner with you in making health care decisions.
• You may spend less time filling out medical history paper work because your doctors may already have this information in an electronic health record.
• You’ll likely have fewer repeated medical tests because your doctors and hospitals will share information and coordinate your care.
• You’ll be in the center of care, and your doctors will be better able to keep you informed, as well as listening and honoring your choices.
• Unlike HMOs, managed care, or some insurance plans, an ACO can’t tell you which health care providers to see and cannot change your Medicare benefits.