A new study has found that Medicare patients with multiple acute or chronic medical conditions who are served by accountable care organizations cost less to serve and visit hospital emergency rooms less frequently.

Such patients also had fewer ambulatory care-sensitive hospital admissions and 30-day hospital readmissions.

The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, traced the reduction in costs to providers making less use of institutional settings when treating their clinically vulnerable patients.

To learn more about the study and its potential implications for both taxpayers and the 23 million Americans enrolled in more than 700 ACOs, go here to see a report from the Commonwealth Fund or go here to read the JAMA Internal Medicine study “Association Between Medicare Accountable Care Organization Implementation and Spending Among Clinically Vulnerable Beneficiaries.”