Phoenix-based Banner Health has been accepted by CMS to participate in the agency's Pioneer ACO program, the Phoenix Business Journal reports.
The Pioneer model will allow up to 30 advanced organizations to apply for "pioneer ACO" status and become ACOs by the end of the year. CMS expects the program—which will be implemented by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation—to save Medicare up to $430 million in its first three years.
Banner Health—which is the state's largest health system—has until mid-November to accept CMS' proposed contract and become one of the first Pioneer ACOs in the country (Gonzales, Phoenix Business Journal, 11/4).
