Accountability across the Continuum: The Participation of Postacute Care Providers in Accountable Care Organizations

Objective

To examine the extent to which accountable care organizations (s) formally incorporate postacute care providers.

Data Sources

The National Survey of s ( = 269, response rate 66 percent).

Study Design

We report statistics on s' formal inclusion of postacute care providers and the organizational characteristics and clinical capabilities of s that have postacute care.

Principal Findings

Half of s formally include at least one postacute service, with inclusion at higher rates in s with commercial (64 percent) and Medicaid contracts (70 percent) compared to s with Medicare contracts only (45 percent). s that have a formal relationship with a postacute provider are more likely to have advanced transition management, end of life planning, readmission prevention, and care management capabilities.

Conclusions

Many s have not formally engaged postacute care, which may leave room to improve service integration and care management.