Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals that work together with the aim of giving you better care. They do this by coordinating their efforts and sharing information with one another, rather than working separately.

In addition to improving your health care coordination, ACOs aim to lower the costs of providing health care. By coordinating efforts and sharing clear health information among providers, ACOs believe they can reduce the amount of money spent each year while giving you better care and a better patient experience.

It is important to know that though ACOs are networks of health care professionals, they are not Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, or Medigaps. An ACO is not your insurance plan. Also, if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you cannot join an ACO. You can still see providers who are part of an ACO if they are also part of your plan’s network, but the providers will not be able to count your care for the bonus payments or shared savings described below.

These fact sheets in English and Spanish explain more about ACOs, and were developed for us by the Medicare Rights Center.