Of the 258 accountable care organizations (ACOs) recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), 60 of them, from more than 15 states, have joined together to form the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), a non-profit organization that allows ACOs to work together to increase quality of care, lower costs and improve the health of their communities.

"It is phenomenal that this many ACOs could come together in a matter of eight weeks to form such an important organization," Clif Gaus, president of NAACOS, said in a statement.  Membership is expected to exceed 100 ACOs by April, representing more than 2 million Medicare assigned beneficiaries.

The NAACOS aims to:

• Foster growth of accountable care models of care
• Promote industry-wide uniformity on quality and performance measures
• Provide peer-to-peer learning experiences
• Highlight clinical and operational best practices
• Constructively engage the vendor community
• Educate the public about the value of accountable care.

“While rapid, this is a natural evolution of what was an informal network of ACO executives recognizing the need for the ACO industry to have its voice clearly and consistently at the table as regulations and program rules are developed by CMS and the States," Mike Barrett, chair of NAACOS, said in a statement. "Equally important is providing a forum for a peer to peer exchange of effective and efficient solutions to the myriad of operational challenges."