On October 20, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule for Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) under the Medicare Shared Savings Program enacted in 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act . The proposed rule for this program, published April 7, 2011, created a large number of comments that have led to several significant changes to the final regulations
Independent hospitals have successfully faced difficult circumstances in the past, but new challenges are pushing the hospital industry onto more difficult footing. Fundamental, long-term industry challenges, including competitive disadvantages in size and scale, limited access to capital and competition for and with physicians, have increased the need for independent hospitals to re-examine their operational and financial strengths and weaknesses