During the debate over health care reform, the Obama administration repeatedly cited the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Health System, and Intermountain Healthcare as examples of how they would like ACOs to operate. But when the administration unfurled its new ACO program, the four so-called poster children all declined to participate, judging the reporting requirements too burdensome and the financial penalties for ACOs that don’t achieve savings as too harsh to justify the process.

Heartlander (Dallas), Kenneth Artz, 10/27/11

More coverage on ACO: San Francisco Business Times, California Healthline

Tags: Health Policy