Since Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) were first recognized in Medicare regulations in 2011, their numbers have been growing rapidly. Yet little is known about the way delivery systems adjusted to the change, and specifically about how those changes affect the health care workforce in hospitals.

This report provides a descriptive analysis of workforce differences between hospitals that participate in some form of an ACO and those that do not. In particular, it examines whether care coordination activities are higher in ACO hospitals and whether nurse staffing and staffing of care coordination jobs are higher.