Provider groups that just completed their first year in Medicare’s ACO programs are showing encouraging signs of producing health care savings.

In all, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports $380 million in savings for first-year participants.  Nearly half of the ACOs participating  in the Shared Savings Program had lower spending than projected but less than half of those  saved enough to qualify to keep any of their savings – one of the program’s main incentives for participants.

Pioneer ACOs, which take greater risks, generated $147 million in savings, with nine of the 23 participating groups spending less than projected.

To learn more about the first-year performance of ACOs and the different types of program participants, see this Kaiser Health News report and this CMS news release.