Accountable Care Organization (ACO)

Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) are groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who voluntarily come together with the goal of delivering: 

• Better care for patients 

• Better health for communities 

• Smarter spending through
  improvement 

As one of Wisconsin's first ACOs, UW Health ACO is a partnership between UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter physicians, clinics, and hospitals and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Together, UW Health ACO participants work to better coordinate your care whether you are in the primary care office, seeing a specialist, admitted to the hospital or at home. 

Here are some of the ways that UW Health ACO works to improve your care and overall health: 

• You are the center of care, and your providers are better able to keep you informed and honor your choices. 

• Care providers communicate with each
  other to provide better-coordinated care. 

• Care providers have more information
  about your medical conditions, prescriptions and visits enabling them to
  provide the right care at the right time in the right setting. 

• Care providers will be accountable to
  you and to payers for providing better care and better care coordination. 

UW Health ACO participates in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services'
(CMS) Next Generation ACO Model. More information on the Next Generation ACO
Model can be found here.