Main Library
With the release of the 2027 Medicare Advantage (MA) advance notice in January 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demonstrated they were willing to implement a bold agenda that defied public and market expectations. Looking ahead, Director of Medicare and Deputy Administrator of CMS Chris Klomp has made it clear that he wants to eliminate unmanaged fee-for-service. It would be foolish to consider this empty rhetoric; we must take this seriously.
It is likely that the next big news will come in July when CMS proposes changes for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) for 2027. Accountable care organizations (ACOs), largely MSSP and ACO (Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health) REACH, are now responsible for more than 14 million beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, and we think CMS will propose policies to bring even more beneficiaries into ACOs and spur greater savings. Ultimately, their goal is to generate healthy competition between ACOs and Medicare Advantage, which should benefit Medicare beneficiaries and the trust funds. To do that, we have to get the other 14 million traditional Medicare beneficiaries into ACOs.