Where Do Behavioral Health Organizations Fit In The ACO Landscape? A Review Of Emerging Accountable Care Models

There is a lot happening in the accountable care organization (ACO) market these days. We’ve seen an increase in the number of Medicare ACOs and the development of new financing models as the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) looks to ease the transition into performance-based risk models. We’ve seen the emergence of Medicaid ACOs and ACO-like structures as states look for new models to better coordinate care and decrease costs. And we’ve seen new initiatives to develop commercial ACOs in the private sector. Amid all of of this growth and change in the ACO market, where does behavioral health care fit? While most ACOs are responsible for behavioral health services, how they deliver those services varies widely – from managing care entirely within the ACO, to contracting with a network of independent provider organizations. In this session, we will look at how the ACO market is changing service delivery and financing for behavioral health organizations and explore the different ways that ACOs are managing and delivering behavioral health care services for their members.