WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Monday that Nevada is among 40 states and Washington, D.C. where people with Medicare can receive health care from an accountable care organization (ACO). ACOs are organizations formed by groups of doctors and other health care providers that have agreed to work together to coordinate care for people with Medicare.

The ACO is Nevada Primary Care Network ACO in Las Vegas. It is comprised of ACO group practices and networks of individual ACO practices, with 89 physicians. It will serve Medicare beneficiaries in Nevada.

The 89 new ACOs named Monday will be serving 1.2 million people with Medicare. All ACOs have entered into agreements with CMS, taking responsibility for the quality of care they provide to people with Medicare in return for the opportunity to share in savings realized through high-quality, well-coordinated care.

“Better coordinated care is good for patients and it saves money,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We applaud every one of these doctors, hospitals, health centers and others for working together to ensure millions of people with Medicare get better, more patient-centered, coordinated care.”

Participation in an ACO is purely voluntary for providers. The Shared Savings Program and other initiatives related to Accountable Care Organizations are made possible by the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Federal savings from this initiative could be up to $940 million over four years.

The new ACOs bring the total number of organizations participating in Medicare shared savings initiatives on July 1 to 154. For more information, visit www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/sharedsavingsprogram/Application.html.