NAACOS Blog
The NAACOS blog highlights important topics of interest for the broader ACO community. NAACOS often spotlights members’ work or relevant and timely advocacy priorities. If you have suggestions for entries or potential entries you want to share, please reach out to advocacy@naacos.com.
NAACOS Outlines Thoughts on Medicare Physician Payment Reform
June 25, 2024
Congress has been working to identify how to improve physician payment, and NAACOS has offered a number of recommendations.
Bringing Value-Based Care to Rural and Underserved Communities
January 22, 2024
Policymakers must recognize the unique payment arrangements of safety-net providers in order to better serve rural and underserved patients through value-based care.
Top Earning ACOs Deliver Keys to Success
November 9, 2023
Leaders of consistently top-performing ACOs shared their pearls of wisdom of what’s made them successful at the NAACOS Fall 2023 Conference. Two consistent themes were: Improving patient access to care and engaging physicians.
NAACOS Largely Supports Proposed Changes to Medicare’s Largest ACO Program
September 14, 2023
NAACOS supported many of important policy proposals that would advance the Medicare Shared Savings Program in comments submitted in response to the proposed 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
Medicare’s Incentives Favor the Status Quo Over Accountable Care
August 31, 2023
Incentives to participate in risk-bearing alternative payment models now favor not participating in APMs. Congress must correct this if it hopes to grow value-based payment arrangements.
Vermont ACO Model Delivers Success
August 4, 2023
The Vermont All-Payer Model reduced Medicare spending, lowered hospitalizations, and overall hit key financial targets while improving patient care, proving policymakers must build on and improve incentives for more ACO participation nationwide.
Full-Risk Option Needed in the Shared Savings Program
July 20, 2023
ACOs would benefit from a permanent, full-risk option, which CMS sought request for comment on in the recently proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
House Committee Holds Oversight Hearing on Medicare Value Programs
July 6, 2023
NAACOS Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Aisha Pittman testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month to explain how ACOs are an increasingly critical part of our health system and how Congress can better support ACOs.
ACO Quality Changes Stall Drive to the Future
June 8, 2023
ACOs want a more seamless, efficient, and technology-enabled quality reporting system. However, lacking interoperability today, ACOs will face many challenges and increased administrative burden and costs to try and support this work in the near term.
Alliance for Value-Based Patient Care Co-Hosts Congressional Briefing: An Overview
May 25, 2023
The Alliance for Value-Based Patient Care partnered with the House Health Care Innovation Caucus to host a briefing to educate congressional staff on how value-based care benefits patients, strengthens the health care system, increases flexibility for clinicians and lowers costs.
A New Approach to Paying for Primary Care in the Medicare Shared Savings Program
April 13, 2023
There is broad multistakeholder support for CMS to implement a hybrid primary care payment model option within MSSP to strengthen the primary care platform and drive accountable care.
COVID-19’s Impact on ACO REACH Deserves CMS’s Attention
March 20, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic will affect ACO REACH’s financial benchmarks, creating unfair performance standards because of data anomalies. CMS should consider approaches to mitigate the potential negative impacts.
