Providers

The ACO model has gained widespread recognition through the rapid acceleration of the Medicare ACO program, which offers financial rewards to health care providers that meet certain cost and quality metrics. Since January 2012, the number of Medicare ACOs grew from 38 to about 260, a 6-fold increase. Now more than 4 million Medicare beneficiaries, about 8% of the program's 50 million enrollees, receive care through ACOs.

Proponents hope that the ACO team approach, in which every player has a financial stake in the patient's health, can improve the quality of care and tamp down skyrocketing costs. The rapid rise of the ACO is reminiscent of another health care institution, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), which grew to prominence in the 1990s. While the two models differ fundamentally in their payment and delivery structures, the ACO is helping to redefine the health care landscape just as the HMO once did.

Read more about the business challenges and opportunities facing health care providers in our report, Medicare ACOs and Shared Savings Models .

The Massachusetts Experience employer sponsored health insurance post reform

As implementation of the Affordable Care Act presses forward, questions remain about its impact on employers. The 2006 Massachusetts universal healthcare legislation provides a guidepost for employers considering a path forward and offers lessons learned.

Scoring healthcare: Navigating customer experience ratings

The ratings culture in the US has exploded in the last decade with consumers turning to reviews for dining, shopping, vacationing, and even home improvements. Now, as they spend more of their own money on health and wellness, consumers are beginning to search for rating systems to guide their decision making.

US Healthcare M&A insights

The US healthcare industry experienced a variety of transformative pressures in 2012. Payers and provider organizations entered 2012 seeking resolution on the ultimate components of healthcare reform. The industry remains on uncertain footing with potential budget cuts in 2013 and beyond.

Solving the talent equation for health IT

The healthcare industry is projected to experience a shortage in qualified information technology (IT) talent at a time when Health IT, or HIT, is increasingly critical to meeting business needs, consumer expectations, and regulatory requirements while capitalizing on new growth prospects.

Regulatory spotlight: Bar raised for handling health information under final HIPAA rule

The final version of the HIPAA rule, released by HHS in late January, reflects two growing realities among the U.S. health system. First, the rule focuses on consumers, strengthening existing patient protections for personal information and limiting how providers, health insurers and others may use it. Second, the rule reflects a changing health system that is becoming more and more digital.

Health reform re-elected: ACA implementation in tough fiscal times

PwC's Health Research Institute shares their analysis of the impact of the 2012 elections

Follow @PwCHealth on twitter