Doctors in accountable care organizations (ACOs), and those thinking of starting or joining one, have had their hands full keeping up with changes in the way Medicare is administering them. ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and/or other healthcare providers that work together with a goal of providing better care at lower cost. As part…
To advance value-based care, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has suggested that HHS reduce its number of alternative payment models (APMs) now that it has lessons learned from a wide range of previous demonstrations. “Operating a smaller portfolio of more harmonized models, with more consistent parameters and clearer and more aligned incentives, should more…
Two influential advisory groups sent recommendations to Congress calling for a revamp of how health plans are paid in the lucrative Medicare Advantage program, culling how many models CMS tests and curbing high-cost drug approvals. By many measures, the MA program has been thriving. Enrollment and participation has continued to grow, and in 2021, MA…
Medicare needs to streamline its portfolio of alternative payment models (APMs), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) said Tuesday in its annual report to Congress. “CMS [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] is to be commended for the vigor with which it has approached its mandate of implementing a wide variety of APMs over…
To reduce redundancies and confusion in the Medicare system, health care policymakers should consider implementing “a smaller, more harmonized” portfolio of alternative payment models (APMs). That’s according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), which released its regular June report to Congress on Tuesday. “In many cases, providers participate in multiple [alternative payment models] simultaneously,…
A lot has happened in health care since 2012, when final rules permitted provider-organized ACOs to be the driving force of Value-Based Care under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). As we pass the ACA’s eleventh anniversary, a dwindling number of Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACOs are entering a new phase marked by higher…
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, at its meeting on Thursday, approved several Medicare policy recommendations that will appear in its June report to Congress. The congressional advisory panel will recommend that CMS simplify its approach to alternative payment models. Commissioners approved an updated version of the recommendation presented by MedPAC’s staff at last month’s meeting….
It’s been a decade since the launch of accountable care organizations, but many are still struggling to realize their original goal: providing high-quality care while lowering, or at least slowing the rise of, the nation’s health care spending. That was the message Michael Chernew, PhD, and Jay Crosson, MD, the current and immediate past presidents,…
In its June report, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) said the program needs to move more quickly away from fee-for-service (FFS) payments. “The commission has made an assertion that the progress towards value-based payment throughout the Medicare program needs to accelerate and more of the program needs to be detached from straight fee-for-service payments,” said…
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is recommending that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services scrap pandemic-skewed 2020 performance benchmarks for at-risk accountable care organizations. “The COVID-19 public health emergency has likely affected—and will continue to affect, at least through 2020—Medicare spending in ways that are yet to be fully understood,” MedPAC Chairman Francis J….
