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New bipartisan legislation aims to create more accountable care organizations by boosting the percentage of shared savings for new entrants and making a series of other reforms.
The Value in Health Care Act introduced on July 24 proposes several changes to Medicare’s alternative payment models. It would boost payments for not only ACOs but also extend bonus payments to clinicians working in advanced APMs.
“To increase the quality of care across the country we need to encourage value, not volume,” said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, one of the co-sponsors, in a statement Friday. “These commonsense changes will reward providers for delivering the value that patients need and expect.”
One of the biggest changes would affect shared savings rates for newer ACOs. An organization agrees to take on financial risk and repay Medicare for not meeting savings targets, but gets a share of any savings.