An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is a healthcare organization characterized by a payment and care delivery model that seeks to tie provider reimbursements to quality metrics and reductions in the total cost of care for an assigned group of patients. This book is an exploration of the historical background and evolution of the Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) model as the basis for addressing the development of the value metrics and capital formation analyses that are foundational to the investment in, development of, and implementation of ACOs. Once the foundation is laid, the book looks at the four pillars of healthcare industry value (regulatory, reimbursement, competition, and technology), and addresses the following questions: What are ACOs? Under what circumstances and capital structures they might represent a sound investment? What value they might offer? Are they are the cost containment and quality improvement answer the industry has been looking for?