Physicians leaving Medicare accountable care organizations are undoing the quality improvements they saw after joining the groups, according to a University of Michigan study.
Medicare pays physicians to join ACOs, which prioritize delivering quality, affordable care for older beneficiaries. However, physician ACO participation is slipping after hitting peak levels in 2020.
Seniors who frequented physicians in the two years following their departure from an ACO had fewer preventive screenings than those with physicians in ACOs, the study, which was published in JAMA Health Forum on Jan. 7, found.
While emergency care or hospital admissions showed little change following leaving an ACO, it took physicians about three years to rebound from dips in preventive care quality following a departure.