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LAWMAKERS RETURN TO WASHINGTON FOR 119TH CONGRESS
The 119th Congress officially convened on January 3, 2025. As the first order of business, new members were sworn into both the House and Senate, and the House Republican Majority re-elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as Speaker of the House. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) officially took over as the new Senate Majority Leader. On January 6, Congress certified the 2024 election results clearing the way for President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Washington will be busy in the coming weeks as lawmakers begin to outline a long list of priorities, including:
- Confirmation of the President’s cabinet nominees,
- Extending government funding beyond March 14 and addressing expiring health programs, and
- Developing consensus on a budget reconciliation bill that includes President-elect Trump’s top legislative priorities on taxes, immigration, and energy policy.
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CONGRESS EXTENDS GOVERNMENT FUNDING, DELAYS KEY HEALTH DECISIONS TO 2025
On December 20, 2024, lawmakers reached an agreement to extend government funding through March 14, 2025. While congressional leaders had originally planned to vote on a more comprehensive funding agreement that included a significant health care package, Republican opposition to other non-health related elements of the funding bill resulted in congressional leaders scaling back the bill’s scope and only doing short-term extensions of most expiring health programs. The bill text is available.
While we are pleased that the bill included a temporary extension of Medicare’s telehealth flexibilities, hospital at home waivers, and other health extenders through March 31, 2025, we are disappointed that other priorities were not addressed. Specifically, earlier versions of the bill included bipartisan agreement on many health provisions, including NAACOS top legislative priorities: a 3.53 percent extension of Medicare’s Advanced APM incentives, freeze of qualifying thresholds, and a 2.5 percent bump in physician payments to offset most of the scheduled physician payment cuts for 2025.
We remain optimistic that our priorities will be addressed in the coming month. Just this week Senator Crapo, Chairman of Senate Finance Committee, outlined the priorities for the 119th Congress, which include streamlining clinician payment systems and incentivizing alternative payment models.
NAACOS would like to thank all our members who helped us advocate for these priorities throughout 2024. We encourage you to continue reaching out to your congressional delegations to encourage them to address these critical issues as quickly as possible. Contact Robert Daley if you need help with talking points or congressional staff contact information.
ACO PRIMARY CARE FLEX MODEL KICKS OFF
The ACO Primary Care Flex (PC Flex) Model began on January 1, 2025. This Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) model will test hybrid payment for primary care services within the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). While the model begins this month, claims reductions and the full prospective primary care payment (PPCP) will begin July 1, 2025. Is your ACO participating in the PC Flex Model? Let us know by emailing Alyssa Neumann. NAACOS plans to convene members participating in the model this spring to understand your experience, facilitate shared learning, and inform NAACOS’ advocacy on the model.
CMS INNOVATION CENTER UPDATES
- CMMI will shut down the MA Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model at the end of 2025, citing its high costs and lack of savings. The model cost the Medicare Trust Fund $4.5 billion in 2021 and 2022 alone.
- CMS released a new request for applications for the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration. Applications are due on March 1, and currently participating hospitals need to submit a new application.
- CMS announced which states were selected to participate in the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model. These include Alabama, Arkansas, California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The model will run from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2034, and aims to improve health outcomes for mothers and infants enrolled in the states’ Medicaid programs.
- Finally, CMS is making data from the Accountable Health Communities Model available to researchers through the CMS Research Data Assistance Center or ResDAC.
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Alo Solutions – Clinically Integrated Network
Durham, NC |
Great Lakes Integrated Network, Inc.
Buffalo, NY |
Longevity Health Plan
Palm Beach Gardens, FL |
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REGISTER EARLY AND SAVE FOR THE SPRING 2025 CONFERENCE!
Meet us at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor on April 22-24 for the Spring 2025 Conference! The agenda will feature leading health care experts and CMS officials sharing timely and essential information for ACOs and value-based care models. Topics to be covered include:
- Strategies for Integrating Behavioral Health
- Medicaid Contracting and Vulnerable Populations
- Care Management Strategies to Engage Provider Groups
- And so much more!
Registration is now open for both in person and virtual participation.
Register before February 28 for the in-person conference and receive a discount of $300 per person.
Can’t attend in person? Register for our live webcast before February 28 and receive a discount of $100 per person.
Sponsorships and exhibit space is going quickly! Reserve your spot now!
**Please note the dates of the Spring 2025 Conference are Tuesday-Thursday.
ESCAPE THE COLD AND JOIN US IN ORLANDO AT THE BOOT CAMP 201
Register now for Boot Camp 201! The Boot Camp 201 will be held on February 6-7, 2025, in Orlando. This in-person event is held annually with two concurrent tracks on Clinical Operations and Data and Analytics. These sessions will be presented at an intermediate-to-advanced level for an understanding of Medicare accountable care and population health to maintain administrative and operational functions of a successful ACO. You will learn from subject matter experts including Gabriel Orthous, Health Choice Network, Joann Sciandra, Geisinger/Keystone ACO, Morgan Power, Clarkson Regional Health Services, Jessica Martensen, Essentia Health, Henish Bhansali, Medical Home Network, Anna Taylor, PSW and Multicare, Eloy Sena, Ardent Health, and Brandi Apodaca, Community Health Provider Alliance. Boot Camp 201 will only be open to ACO members and non-members, not vendors.
Discounted hotel rate ends next week! Book Discounted Rate Now!
Did you miss the live Boot Camp 101 sessions in November?
The recorded 101 sessions are now available to purchase and watch on demand, whether you are looking for ACO Basics or to prepare to attend 201 Boot Camp. If you bundle the 101 recordings with the 201 Boot Camp, you will receive a $100 discount on the in-person event. These introductory prices won’t be around long, so get your bundle now!
JOIN US IN TWO WEEKS AT THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA REGIONAL MEETING
The first of NAACOS’ two new meetings designed to better support ACOs and value-based care providers at the regional level is only two weeks away! The Greater Philadelphia event will take place on January 24 at the Museum of the American Revolution, and the Florida event will take place on February 5 in Orlando in conjunction with Boot Camp 201. Agenda topics are targeted to the geographic area and include contracting across payers, managing high-needs populations, aligning reporting requirements and measures, and clinical best practices. These one-day forums will be in-person events open to ACO members, non-members, and other health care providers and organizations interested in value-based contracting. Sponsored in part by Innovaccer, Inc., each event will include lunch and a reception. Register to Attend a Regional Meeting Today!
WEBINAR: UNLEASH THE POWER OF REAL-TIME EPISODING AND BENCHMARKS
Health care costs continue to rise without improvements in patient outcomes or quality of care, emphasizing the urgent need for actionable insights that drive change. For value-based care organizations, identifying performance variation, leveraging actionable levers to enhance quality, and targeting specific intervention opportunities are critical to improving patient outcomes and achieving ROI. CareJourney by Arcadia introduces its groundbreaking episode engine, now seamlessly integrated into its market-leading Provider Intelligence solution. Register to attend the January 23 webinar from 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET to learn how market-leading value-based organizations combine real-time episoding on first-party data with third-party benchmarks to deliver unparalleled clarity and actionability. Register for this webinar now!
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING: NEWS ABOUT ACOS AND HEALTH CARE |
- The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) will hold its next public meeting on January 16-17, 2025. During the January meetings the commission votes on Medicare payment recommendations that are included in a report to Congress in March.
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