Healthcare financial management : journal of the Healthcare Financial Management Association
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Accountable care organizations (ACOs) have been described as a "secret weapon" in the effort to slow the exponential growth of healthcare costs while improving the quality of care. Short-term cost savings are crucial to sustaining the ACO model because without revenue from shared-savings incentives, participating organizations might not be motivated to continue their involvement. ACOs of various types have achieved cost savings in recent years while improving care for their patients, and opportunities lie ahead for ACOs to become even more effective.