Spending Differences Associated With the Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration
Medicare News Tuesday, September 18th, 2012American Medical Association.: September 12, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently launched accountable care organization (ACO) programs designed to improve quality and slow cost growth. The ACOs resemble an earlier pilot, the Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration (PGPD), in which participating physician groups received bonus payments if they achieved lower cost growth than local controls and met quality targets. Although evidence indicates the PGPD improved quality, uncertainty remains about its effect on costs.
Objective To estimate cost savings associated with the PGPD overall and for beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.
Design Quasi-experimental analyses comparing preintervention (2001-2004) and postintervention (2005-2009) trends in spending of PGPD participants to local control groups. We compared estimates using several alternative approaches to adjust for case mix. Read More
