New to Medicare in 2012: Accountable Care Organizations

Increased scrutiny has come to Medicare in recent years as our society
continues to hone in on health insurance and health in general.  With
this scrutiny Medicare has had to be aware of their shortcomings and
attempt to overcome them with new programs.  In 2012 one of these
programs are called Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and they can
help improve your health insurance experience.

Your doctor can choose to become a part of Accountable Care
Organizations and become a part of a team of providers that work
together to improve your quality, cost and care.  This will not affect
your benefits or coverage, to be clear, this is a program intended to
get doctors and other healthcare providers on the same page as
Medicare.  If your doctor already belongs to an ACO you can continue
to see that doctor with the improved service.

If your doctor doesn’t participate in an Accountable Care Organization
you can choose to switch doctors to one that does.  However, you do
not have to switch doctors if you like yours and they are not a part
of an ACO.  For more information, visit www.medicare.gov or call
1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.