Which statement best describes Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and how they share savings?

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ACOs coordinate care to improve quality while reducing overall costs. In these arrangements, if spending stays at or below a predefined benchmark and quality targets are met, the organization receives a share of the savings, distributed to participating providers based on agreed-upon metrics. Some models also carry downside risk, meaning providers may have to repay a portion of losses if costs exceed the benchmark. This setup creates incentives to both improve care and curb unnecessary spending, rather than guaranteeing profits or shielding providers from any risk.

The other options don’t fit because one describes no-sharing of savings, which contradicts the shared-savings structure; another suggests guaranteed profits with no risk, which is not how ACOs operate; and the last option narrows focus only to readmissions, whereas ACOs aim to reduce costs and improve care across settings, with shared savings tied to performance.