Healthcare Insights

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

RankDefinitive IDACO nameACO typeLocationPatient populationExplore dataset
1810909TMA PracticeEdge (Texas Medical Association - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas ACO)Commercial ACOAustin, TX5,000,000Explore
2842940Aetna - Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) ACOCommercial ACOPhiladelphia, PA1,400,000Explore
3552289Aetna - Carilion Clinic ACOCommercial ACORoanoke, VA1,000,000Explore
4552388Capital Bluecross - Heritage Medical Group ACOCommercial ACOLemoyne, PA700,000Explore
5579844Anthem Blue Cross of California - Healthcare Partners ACOCommercial ACOEl Segundo, CA675,000Explore
6579912Aetna - Riverside Health System ACOCommercial ACONewport News, VA500,000Explore
7585269Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey - Partners in Care ACOCommercial ACOEast Brunswick, NJ500,000Explore
8823406Aetna - Virtual Medical Group ACOCommercial ACOMarlton, NJ400,000Explore
9552285Advocatecare ACOCommercial ACOChicago, IL375,000Explore
10969400BCBS Illinois - Advocate Physician Partners Accountable CareCommercial ACORolling Meadows, IL375,000Explore
11969315BCBS Arizona - Banner Health Network ACOCommercial ACOPhoenix, AZ350,000Explore
12553402Cigna - Banner Health Network ACOCommercial ACOPhoenix, AZ350,000Explore
13577487UnitedHealthcare - Seton Health Alliance ACOCommercial ACOAustin, TX320,000Explore
14969460HealthPartners - Northwest Metro AllianceCommercial ACOBloomington, MN300,000Explore
15578002Partners for Kids ACOMedicaid ACOColumbus, OH300,000Explore
16585460Blue Shield of California - EPIC ACOCommercial ACORedlands, CA273,000Explore
17835846University Hospitals - Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield ACOCommercial ACOCleveland, OH270,000Explore
18947978Cigna - DeKalb Physicians Health OrganizationCommercial ACODecatur, GA250,000Explore
19858080DeKalb Medical Physicians Group - UnitedHealthcare ACOCommercial ACODecatur, GA250,000Explore
20849729Humana - DeKalb PHO ACOCommercial ACODecatur, GA250,000Explore
21552351Cigna - Westmed Medical Group ACOCommercial ACORye Brook, NY237,000Explore
22553396OptumCare - North American Medical Management California ACOCommercial ACOOntario, CA229,000Explore
23777076Health Choice UtahMedicaid ACOSouth Jordan, UT200,000Explore
24856423Humana - John Muir Health ACOCommercial ACOWalnut Creek, CA200,000Explore
25574791Rainbow Care ConnectionCommercial ACOCleveland, OH200,000Explore

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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