Next year brings the possibility of accountable care organizations and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sharing savings that result from more efficient use of resources. CMS cites better care for individuals and better health for populations as two of its highest priorities. In pursuit of those goals, it proposed quality standards that ACOs must meet in order to be eligible for shared savings. The proposed rule addresses the following:

1. Measures CMS will use to assess quality of care;

2. Data relating to the measures that ACOs must provide to CMS;

3. Quality standards that an ACO must meet;

4. An opportunity to receive an additional 0.5 percent bonus of physician payments based on a virtual group practice; and

5. Public reporting by ACOs.