Research Alert: May 11, 2015

Characteristics of Rural Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) - A Survey of Medicare ACOs with Rural Presence

In this policy brief, we present the findings of a survey of 27 rural ACOs focusing on characteristics important to their formation and operation. We find that a majority of responding ACOs were formed from pre-existing integrated delivery systems and had physician and hospital participants with prior risk-sharing and quality-based payment experience. In addition, physician groups played a leading role in the formation and management of the ACOs.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• More information about the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guides: Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics