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CMS issued a final rule Dec. 21 that makes sweeping changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program, including overhauling the way ACOs share in risks and rewards.
Here are seven takeaways from the final rule:
1. There are currently four MSSP tracks. The final rule streamlines the program by discontinuing Track 1, a one-sided risk model, and Track 2, a two-sided model. The CMS Innovation Center is also discontinuing the Track 1+ model, under which ACOs assume limited downside risk.
2. The redesigned program —which CMS has dubbed “Pathways to Success” — offers ACOs two participation options: basic and enhanced. It also expands ACO participation agreements from three years to five years.