Top 25 ACOs by patient population
Considering that the United States spends 19.7% of its GDP on healthcare expenditures, the efficacy of healthcare delivery remains a key focus for provider organizations and payors.
Efforts continue to be made to tie outcomes to reimbursement and to shift from fee-for-service to value-based care, where more emphasis is placed on managing patient populations across the continuum of care.
What are accountable care organizations (ACOs)?
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are formal groups of physicians, hospitals, or other care providers that voluntarily work together to deliver coordinated care to a defined population of patients.
ACOs aim to ensure that patients—especially those living with chronic conditions—receive the appropriate care they need when they need it, while preventing unnecessary duplication of services, medical errors, and expenses.
Check out our list of the top 25 ACOs in the U.S. according to their total patient population.
Top 25 ACOs by population
| Rank | Definitive ID | ACO name | ACO type | Location | Patient population |
| 1 | 810909 | TMA PracticeEdge (Texas Medical Association - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas ACO) | Commercial ACO | Austin, TX | 5,000,000 |
| 2 | 842940 | Aetna - Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) ACO | Commercial ACO | Philadelphia, PA | 1,400,000 |
| 3 | 552289 | Aetna - Carilion Clinic ACO | Commercial ACO | Roanoke, VA | 1,000,000 |
| 4 | 552388 | Capital Bluecross - Heritage Medical Group ACO | Commercial ACO | Lemoyne, PA | 700,000 |
| 5 | 579844 | Anthem Blue Cross of California - Healthcare Partners ACO | Commercial ACO | El Segundo, CA | 675,000 |
| 6 | 579912 | Aetna - Riverside Health System ACO | Commercial ACO | Newport News, VA | 500,000 |
| 7 | 585269 | Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey - Partners in Care ACO | Commercial ACO | East Brunswick, NJ | 500,000 |
| 8 | 823406 | Aetna - Virtual Medical Group ACO | Commercial ACO | Marlton, NJ | 400,000 |
| 9 | 552285 | Advocatecare ACO | Commercial ACO | Chicago, IL | 375,000 |
| 10 | 969400 | BCBS Illinois - Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care | Commercial ACO | Rolling Meadows, IL | 375,000 |
| 11 | 969315 | BCBS Arizona - Banner Health Network ACO | Commercial ACO | Phoenix, AZ | 350,000 |
| 12 | 553402 | Cigna - Banner Health Network ACO | Commercial ACO | Phoenix, AZ | 350,000 |
| 13 | 577487 | UnitedHealthcare - Seton Health Alliance ACO | Commercial ACO | Austin, TX | 320,000 |
| 14 | 969460 | HealthPartners - Northwest Metro Alliance | Commercial ACO | Bloomington, MN | 300,000 |
| 15 | 578002 | Partners for Kids ACO | Medicaid ACO | Columbus, OH | 300,000 |
| 16 | 585460 | Blue Shield of California - EPIC ACO | Commercial ACO | Redlands, CA | 273,000 |
| 17 | 835846 | University Hospitals - Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield ACO | Commercial ACO | Cleveland, OH | 270,000 |
| 18 | 947978 | Cigna - DeKalb Physicians Health Organization | Commercial ACO | Decatur, GA | 250,000 |
| 19 | 858080 | DeKalb Medical Physicians Group - UnitedHealthcare ACO | Commercial ACO | Decatur, GA | 250,000 |
| 20 | 849729 | Humana - DeKalb PHO ACO | Commercial ACO | Decatur, GA | 250,000 |
| 21 | 552351 | Cigna - Westmed Medical Group ACO | Commercial ACO | Rye Brook, NY | 237,000 |
| 22 | 553396 | OptumCare - North American Medical Management California ACO | Commercial ACO | Ontario, CA | 229,000 |
| 23 | 777076 | Health Choice Utah | Medicaid ACO | South Jordan, UT | 200,000 |
| 24 | 856423 | Humana - John Muir Health ACO | Commercial ACO | Walnut Creek, CA | 200,000 |
| 25 | 574791 | Rainbow Care Connection | Commercial ACO | Cleveland, OH | 200,000 |
Fig 1. Data from the Definitive Healthcare ConnectedCareView product. ACO data is sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and proprietary research. Data accurate as of August 2022.
Which ACO has the highest patient population?
TMA PracticeEdge, a commercial ACO based out of Austin, TX, has the highest patient population at 5 million. Aetna-Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has a patient population of 1.4 million and Aetna – Carilion Clinic, a commercial ACO based out of Roanoke, VA, has a population of 1 million patients.
The top 25 ACOs by patient population on the list represent nearly 15 million patients with an average population of 596,160 patient each. Of the top 25, 18 are commercial ACOs and two are Medicaid ACOs.
What are the different types of ACOs?
ACOs cover patients who are covered by different types of healthcare payors. The main types of ACOs are:
- Commercial ACOs: usually provider groups establishing an accountable care payment model with a non-government payer
- Medicaid ACOs: aligns providers and payors incentives with a focus on value for a Medicaid population
- Medicare Shared Savings Program: requires measurement and improvement in quality and an annual certification process
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