Accountable care organizations--an employer POV primer.

The accountable care organization (ACO) has emerged as the centerpiece of postreform initiatives to improve the delivery of quality, cost-efficient care. As the primary partners in delivering ACOs, payers and providers have begun to collaborate on the opportunities presented by the legislation. For employers, however, this new approach to managed health care delivery models will present challenges in adoption different from its predecessors: preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations and consumer-driven models. This article identifies these challenges and helps employers understand how they can respond in ways that make them active participants in the emergence of ACOs and secure the potential value of ACOs for their own organizations. For employers, the method to capturing the value of these emerging delivery models is to have a broad understanding of the evolving payer and provider marketplace, how to access or develop ACOs, and how smart decisions today can improve the future landscape of health care.