CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS BEGIN TO OUTLINE BUDGET RECONCILIATION GOALS
Budget reconciliation is a process that can be used by the majority party in Congress to enact legislation on taxes and spending with a simple majority, thus avoiding the 60-vote threshold to avoid filibusters in the Senate. Since the 1980s, budget reconciliation has been used to enact 23 bills, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Bush and Trump Tax Cuts, American Rescue Plan, and Inflation Reduction Act. Given slim majorities in Congress, Republican leaders are currently discussing a strategy for moving forward with a budget reconciliation bill to enact President Trump’s policy goals. While there’s still a lot of details that need to be finalized, leaders would like to have a bill ready to be signed into law by April 20.
- Policy Goals—Extend the tax policies included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from the first Trump Administration; increase funding for immigration enforcement and national defense; expand U.S. energy production; and reduce government spending and deficits.
- Potential Health Care Savings—Repeal of Biden era health policy rules (i.e., nursing home staffing); reductions to hospital outpatient payments (i.e., site-neutral reforms); caps on Medicaid funding to states; changes to ACA policies and tax subsidies.
2025 CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE WITH LONG LIST OF PRIORITIES
While Congressional Republicans are working to outline a strategy to pass President Trump’s legislative agenda via budget reconciliation, leaders will also be confronted by a packed legislative agenda that will require significant bipartisan compromise to keep the government funded. Upcoming deadlines include:
- Debt Limit (expired on January 1)
- Extend Government Funding (March 14)
- Disaster Funding for CA Wildfires (TBD)
- Extend Medicare Extenders (March 31)
- Fiscal Year 2026 Funding (September 30)
NAACOS is continuing to advocate for an extension of the advanced alternative payment model (APM) incentive payments and removing the physician payment cuts that went into effect on January 1. While Congress had initially addressed these topics as part of an end-of-year continuing resolution in December, the final bill was stripped of many health care provisions. We are urging Congress to address these priorities swiftly, enabling us to resume discussions on long-term reforms for physician payment and value-based incentives.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BEGINS TO FILL OUT SENIOR HEALTH STAFF
On January 20, President Trump officially nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Both nominees will continue meeting with senators and will have confirmation hearings before Senate committees in the coming weeks. Additionally, the press is reporting some of the senior staff that will be advisors to the President, HHS, and CMS; NAACOS will update you as these individuals are officially named.
CMS ANNOUNCES MORE THAN HALF OF TRADITIONAL MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES IN ACCOUNTABLE CARE
More than half of traditional Medicare beneficiaries are cared for by an ACO, including MSSP and ACO REACH, or other CMS Innovation Center model, the agency said last week. NAACOS released a statement praising the continued growth in accountable care and promising to work with CMS to maintain the momentum. Among the data released include:
- 55 new MSSP ACOs, the most since 2018
- 24 PC Flex Model ACOs, covering 349,000 people
- 11.2 million beneficiaries in MSSP, matching a program high
- 71 percent of MSSP ACOs are at risk, including 253 in the Enhanced Track, both program highs
- 38 percent are high revenue, an MSSP low
- 103 REACH ACOs, covering 2.5 million
CMS’s fact sheet on the announcement with links to more information on all models is available online.
FIFTEEN MORE PART D DRUGS ANNOUNCED FOR NEGOTIATIONS
CMS released the names of 15 more drugs subject to negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. These include popular weight loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy. Prices on these Part D drugs will be effect in 2027. Next year, the Inflation Reduction Act allows CMS to select Part B for negotiation. More information is available on the CMS press release and fact sheet.
CMS PUBLISHES SEVERAL BLOGS BEFORE CHANGE IN POWER
Before leaving office, Biden administration health officials published a spate of blogs and thought pieces on a variety of topics of interest to the NAACOS community. They include:
UPDATED 2025 NAACOS COMPLIANCE MANUAL NOW AVAILABLE!
NAACOS has partnered with Wilems Resource Group to offer MSSP and REACH ACOs an updated Compliance Manual for 2025, consisting of a robust set of policies and procedures which your organization can customize to meet individual needs. This manual is a necessary tool designed to provide template policies to help your leadership ensure compliance with program requirements. The Compliance Manual includes fully editable foundational policy templates, version control and policy record retention capabilities, important steps to consider when forming policies and procedures, easy to use functionality, and more! Everyone who subscribes to the manual has the option to schedule a call with NAACOS staff for a guided tutorial on using the platform. NAACOS will also be hosting webinars in late February conjunction with this manual release, centered on prepping for ACO compliance. Keep an eye out for upcoming details. Subscribe today!
ONE MONTH UNTIL EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR SPRING 2025 CONFERENCE
Meet us at the Baltimore Hilton Inner Harbor 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 organizations. Topics to be covered include:
- Medicaid Contracting and Potential Impacts on Vulnerable Populations
- Specialty Model Integration and Best Practices for Shadow Bundles
- Lessons Learned from Those Who Submitted eCQMs
- 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 fall on Tuesday-Thursday.*
DETAILED AGENDAS AVAILABLE FOR BOOT CAMP 201 IN ORLANDO
Register today for Boot Camp 201 to be held on February 6-7 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 and will provide an understanding of Medicare accountable care and population health to maintain administration and operational functions of a successful ACO. Boot Camp 201 is only open to ACO employees and not vendors.
Did you miss the live Boot Camp 101 sessions in November?
The recorded 101 sessions are available for purchase to watch on demand and are a great way to gain an introductory level of understanding for those attending the 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.
NAACOS REGIONAL MEETINGS KICK OFF TOMORROW!
The first of NAACOS’ two new regional meetings is tomorrow – Friday, January 24 at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Agenda topics are focused locally and include contracting across payers, managing high-needs populations, aligning report requirements and measures, clinical best practices and more. Another regional meeting will be held on February 5 in Orlando in conjunction with Boot Camp 201. These one-day forums are in-person events for ACOs 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 Today!
REGISTER FOR TODAY’S WEBINAR: UNLEASH THE POWER OF REAL-TIME EPISODING AND BENCHMARKS
Last chance to register for today’s 2:00 pm ET webinar, sponsored by Arcadia, to learn how market-leading value-based organization combine real-time episoding on first-party data with third-party benchmarks to deliver unparalleled clarity and actionability. 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 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 now!
NAACOS RESTRUCTURES ITS PEER GROUPS FOR MEMBERS
Looking for shared learning to inform your daily work? NAACOS offers its members Affinity Groups that are role-based, peer-to-peer forums and Deep Dive Roundtables that are topic-focused discussion groups to share best practices and design policy solutions on key topics across value.
For 2025, we combined the Operations and Executive Affinity Groups, added the topic “performance improvement” to the Clinical and CMO Affinity Group, and changed “quality implementation” to a Deep Dive Roundtable. These groups are open only to NAACOS Members. We have also added a Federal Government Lobbying Affinity Group that is limited to NAACOS members and business partners who are registered federal lobbyists or policy professionals. Register for 2025 shared learning activities using the links below!
Operations and Executive Affinity Group
Meets: July 22 and January 20, 2026, from 3–4 pm ET
Register for Operations and Executive Affinity Group
Data and Analytics Affinity Group
Meets: January 28, July 29, and January 27, 2026, from 3–4 pm ET
Register for Data and Analytics Affinity Group
Clinical and Performance Improvement Affinity Group
Meets: February 11, August 12, and February 10, 2026, from 3–4 pm ET
Register for Clinical and Performance Improvement Affinity Group
Compliance and Legal Affinity Group
Meets: February 18, August 17, and February 17, 2026, from 3–4 pm ET
Register for Compliance and Legal Affinity Group
Federal Government Lobbying Affinity Group
Meets: February 20, April 17, June 18, August 21, October 16, December 18 from 2–3 pm ET
Participation is limited to NAACOS members and business partners that are registered federal lobbyists or policy professionals. These calls are informal forums for NAACOS members to stay closely aligned on advocacy efforts in Congress and with the Administration.
Register for Federal Government Lobbying Affinity Group
Patient and Community Engagement Roundtable
Meets: February 4, April 1, June 3, August 5, December 2 from 2–3 pm ET
Register for Patient and Community Engagement Roundtable
High Needs Patients Roundtable
Meets: February 18, April 15, June 17, August 19, October 21, December 16 from 2–3 pm ET
Register for High Needs Beneficiaries Roundtable
Medicare Advantage Roundtable
Meets: January 14, March 18, May 20, July 15, September 16, November 18 from 1–2 pm ET
Register for Medicare Advantage Roundtable
ACO REACH Roundtable
Meets: January 23, March 27, May 22, July 24, September 25, November 20 from 12–1 pm ET
Register for ACO REACH Roundtable
Rural and Underserved Roundtable
Meets: February 13, May 8, August 14, November 13 from 2–3 pm ET
Register for Rural and Underserved Roundtable
Quality Implementation Roundtable
Meets: February 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11, July 9, August 13, September 10, October 8, November 12, December 10 from 2–3pm ET
Register for Quality Implementation Roundtable
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING: NEWS ABOUT ACOS AND HEALTH CARE |
- The Partnership to Align Social Care (P2ASC), of which NAACOS is a member, is hosting an educational webinar series this month on new Medicare Part B codes titled, “Addressing HRSNs Through Medicare: An Update on CY 2025 Changes and Implementation Activity for Community Health Integration and Principal Illness Navigation (CHI/PIN) Codes.” Registration is free, and we encourage you to share with colleagues. Register today!
- Paragon Health Institute discussed how Medicare Advantage and ACOs can both be leveraged to improve the overall Medicare program.
- The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held its January meeting last week to vote on payment recommendations for 2026. The commission’s March Report to Congress will recommend lawmakers increase Medicare physician payment rates in 2026 by the standard measure of practice cost inflation minus 1 percent point. This would result in a 1.3 percent increase in payments.
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