The Accountable Care Organization for Surgical Care

Rising health care costs superimposed on uncertainty surrounding the relationship between health care spending and quality have resulted in an urgent need to develop strategies to better align health care payment with value. Such approaches, at least in theory, work to achieve the dual aims of reducing growth in health care spending and improving population health. To date, surgery has not been prioritized in accountable care organizations (ACOs). Nonetheless, it is critically important to begin to consider strategic and impactful mechanisms through which surgery can be seamlessly woven into innovative population health models.