The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS), a nonprofit which represents accountable care organizations (ACOs), uncovered a Medicare fraud scheme that may have cost the government $2 billion.
Federal officials are now investigating the fraudulent billing of nearly 406,000 patients for catheters. The Washington...National News
A bipartisan group of lawmakers have reintroduced a bill that would reform alternative payment models (APM) and allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to extend APM incentives. Also, the agency's Innovation Center provides an update on the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health...National News
Adding a seventh track to the advanced payment model would provide a better bridge from the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to the ACO REACH model, according to the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations NAACOS. CMS is taking your comments.
According to a NAACOS blog post by David Pittman, the organization's...
Last Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the proposed 2023 physician fee schedule (PFS) which included an overhaul to the agency's strategies on accountable care organizations (ACOs) through the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP).
In February, CMS pulled the Accountable Care Organizations...
This week, the Center for Medicare hinted at new value-based approaches to palliative care; health equity takes precedence in the national conversation on rural payment models; and value-based contracts are analyzed for their ability to mitigate drug costs.
The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) is now ten years old, and with it...CMS Rules
On February 24, the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) gave a long-awaited announcement regarding the future of the Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model (GPDC). The existing model will phase out by December 31, 2022 and will be redesigned to create the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access and...Arizona News
Value-based payment arrangements are rapidly growing with several Arizona-based companies either joining national programs or expanding value-based design to other areas of the country. The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) says that bigger changes can't come fast enough.
In a press release last week,...National News
The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) sent a letter to Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Kathleen Rice (D-NY) and Adrian Smith (R-NE) in support of a bill sponsored by the bipartisan group that would remove a statutory requirement that patients have at least one primary care visit with a physician during...CMS Rules
On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a final rule for the Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). The PFS includes policy changes for Medicare payments and Medicare Part B, and is the major mechanism for rate setting for the Medicare program as a whole. The PFS must remain budget...Arizona News
The Next Generation accountable care organization (Next Gen ACO) alternative payment model will end in 2022, but not before it saved Medicare some significant money, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS found that in 2020, the Next Gen model saved $637 million on the whole, but that number...National News
Last week, the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requesting leniency regarding performance benchmarks and the potential option for accountable care organizations to select pre-pandemic years as the basis for benchmark measurements. Additionally, CMS announced the...
Comments on the Calendar Year 2022 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule are now closed as of September 13. Changes to Medicare Part B payment policies as well as updates to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and the Quality Payment Program (QPP) are included in the annual PFS rule. Providers broadly oppose Medicare...National News
A new bill introduced by Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) looks to reverese Trump-era modifications to the Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program and restore higher cost savings to participating providers while removing some of the risk. The bill...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposal for the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program rules with a focus on addressing health disparities in vulnerable communities.
Significantly, the fee schedule proposes a 3.75% cut in reimbursements to physicians in order to maintain budget...National News
The Biden administration has spent the first five months in office reviewing value-based care reimbursement programs authorized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and hospice providers, both integral parts of the Medicare program, still await instruction or expansion of...National News
The Biden administration has elected to discontinue the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model (Next Gen) at the end of 2021, to the disappointment of the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS). The program for accountable care organizations was originally expected to end at the beginning of the year...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is deep into Medicare alternative payment model (APM) revision and adjustment. One such program undergoing review is the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and the revisions include major changes to quality reporting methodologies, the crux of the program.
CMS posted its final...National News
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation's (CMMI) new director Liz Fowler made her first public remarks this week at the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) virtual conference.
We are 100% committed to expanding access to health care, and we are equally committed to continuing to move our system to...CMS Rules
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) agreed that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must put together a consolidated group of alternative payment models in order to improve demonstrations.
From the commission's recommendation:
The Secretary should implement a more harmonized portfolio of fewer spending...