The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has set an aggressive goal that by the year 2030 all Medicare beneficiaries with Parts A and B will be in a care relationship with accountability for quality and total cost of care. To accomplish this, CMS has set a further goal to increase the capability of all providers to engage in these accountable relationships. In accord with this aim, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 provides incentives for providers to move into accountable risk relationships called advanced alternative payment models (or AAPMs). The more providers that successfully adopt AAPMs—referred to as qualifying participants (QPs) in the quality payment program (QPP)—the more patients that will then be covered under accountable relationships in the traditional Medicare program.
