ACOs press for halt to Geographic Direct Contracting model due to complexity concerns

The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) is calling for the Trump administration to put the brakes on a new payment model that ties savings to the health of an entire region.

NAACOS wrote in a letter to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), which oversees payment models, that the new Geographic Direct Contracting model recently announced needs further testing and could create patient confusion.

Geographic direct contracting aims to test whether providers can improve quality and lower costs for beneficiaries across a region. It is a branch of direct contracting, a model that calls on providers to take on a high amount of financial risk in exchange for meeting savings targets.

In the geographic model, providers will work in a specific region and leverage existing relationships to develop a care delivery solution that accounts for the region’s local needs.

Full Article