Health systems are playing a leading role in addressing patients' social needs, in part because their profits are not based on the number of patient visits and treatments.

Michael McWilliams, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, says, "Many people have written off [accountable care organizations] as not working. But over time, the savings have materialized."

The pilot program will involve 30,000 of Vermont's Medicaid beneficiaries and close to 2,000 different health care providers.

Health policy analysts say repealing the Affordable Care Act without a replacement likely would result in coverage losses, meaning fewer patients would be able to pay their medical bills.

This is not the first time providers, insurers, and advocacy groups have called on the Trump administration to continue efforts to promote value-based payment models.

CMS says the participating clinicians in 2017 will serve more than 12.3 million Medicare and/or Medicaid beneficiaries across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

The researchers recommend that quality programs take into account patients' socioeconomic characteristics, such as race and income, when adjusting for risk in provider quality programs.

A new rule from CMS finalizes three new mandatory bundled payment models for heart attack treatment, bypass surgery, and surgical hip and femur fracture treatment covered under Medicare, updates CMS' existing bundled payment model for hip and knee replacements, and announces a new Medicare accountable care organization track.

A new rule from CMS finalizes three new mandatory bundled payment models for heart attack treatment, bypass surgery, and surgical hip and femur fracture treatment covered under Medicare, updates CMS' existing bundled payment model for hip and knee replacements, and announces a new Medicare accountable care organization track.

From new ways to pay physicians under Medicare to a long-discussed legislative package aimed at supporting U.S. medical innovations, 2016 brought major health care reform efforts that could shape the U.S. health system for years to come. American Health Line breaks down our picks for the top players who shook up the industry in 2016.