CMS won’t extend the Next Generation ACO Model through 2022

CMS won’t extend the Next Generation ACO Model through 2022 but will allow participants to apply for the standard track of its Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model, the agency said in a letter to Next Gens on Friday.

The American Hospital Association, National Association of Accountable Care Organizations and other provider groups had lobbied the Biden administration to extend the Next Gen ACO Model through the end of next year. And their calls grew more urgent after CMS’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation announced it would pause new applications for its Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model in April. The decision had left many direct contracting entities without a home for 2022, forcing them to reevaluate their plans without knowing what could come next.

Next Gens didn’t get the extension they had sought, but they did get some relief when CMMI announced they would be able to join the GPDC Model if they met the agency’s qualifications.

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