Comparing Spending in Medicare Advantage and Accountable Care Organizations—Is Plan–Health Care System Integration the Future?

Abstract

The Medicare Advantage (MA) program is growing rapidly, now enrolling more than 44% of all Medicare beneficiaries, with that number expected to surpass 50% in the next several years. This growth has occurred during the same period as expansions of value-based alternative payment models in traditional Medicare (TM), such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), most commonly under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). With the growth of these different models of payment and care delivery, its it imperative to better understand how these programs compare with one another. The study by Parikh and colleagues 1 begins to address these questions.