The lawmakers claim direct contracting is a Trump-era privatization tactic that has removed millions of seniors from Traditional Medicare without their knowledge or consent. More than 50 lawmakers led by US Representative Pramila Jayapa urged the Biden administration to discontinue the Medicare Direct Contracting (DC) program and transition Medicare beneficiaries into the Traditional Medicare model. In a letter written to HHS…
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) can improve health equity in their patient populations, but they need more funding and flexibility to do so, according to a report from a group representing 370 ACOs. “ACOs are already beginning to do the work of addressing negative [social determinants of health] to improve quality and control costs for the…
The Biden administration needs to provide money upfront to help form accountable care organizations in rural areas and give more financial support to address health equity, a new report finds. The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) released a white paper Wednesday that outlines a series of recommendations to better position organizations to help address health…
On Wednesday, Aug 25, leaders at the Washington, D.C.-based NAACOS—the National Association of ACOs—trumpeted the progress of accountable care organizations in saving money for the Medicare program, one day after joining eleven fellow national healthcare associations in pleading with members of Congress to include legislation supporting alternative payment model acceleration in upcoming federal legislation. On…
At its Spring 2021 Conference, the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) recognized three ACOs for their outstanding work to improve patient care in their communities. NAACOS said the three inaugural winners exemplify how ACOs across the country are improving care by addressing food insecurity, making house calls to reduce preventable emergency department visits,…
The healthcare system is at a critical point in its transition to value-based care a decade after implementation of the Affordable Care Act and its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), according to CMMI’s newly minted director Liz Fowler, PhD, JD. “The goal [of the ACA] was to create a system that rewards better…
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) remains committed to moving the health care system towards value-based care in the early years of the Biden Administration, though the center’s leadership is doing some soul-searching on how best to pursue its mission, according to CMMI’s new director Liz Fowler. Fowler made her first public remarks…
Now that the Biden administration is putting a new team in charge of CMS, advocates for accountable care organizations (ACOs) are preparing to push for changes that they say will bolster CMS’ ACO programs and make risk sharing more palatable. The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) says that ACOs have worked as intended to slow…
Fourteen healthcare organizations wrote a letter to HHS urging it to extend the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model through 2022 instead of letting it expire at the end of 2021. The groups also urged HHS to establish a permanent full-risk ACO option based on the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model. Full Article
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is delaying the ACO Track of the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation Model, to the disappointment of the National Association of ACOs. CMS gave no reason for the delay from this spring to spring 2022. The delay applies only to the ACO Transformation Track of the CHART…