News Release
August 14, 2023

NAACOS Statement on Announced 2024 Changes to ACO REACH
Attributed to Clif Gaus, Sc.D., President and CEO of the National Association of ACOs 

We appreciate that CMS continues to improve on the ACO REACH Model by addressing many concerns raised by NAACOS members. These include financial protections from midyear changes to benchmarks, additions to the Health Equity Benchmark Adjustment to account for more patient characteristics, and updates to its risk adjustment policies. We believe these changes will satisfy many concerns and stabilize future participation. Additionally, we encourage CMS to explore adding features of REACH into a permanent track within the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Using MSSP as a chassis for innovation while infusing lessons learned from Innovation Center models into a permanent program is another path for stabilizing and growing participation in ACOs. 

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Contact:
David Pittman
Director, Communications and Regulatory Affairs
202-640-2689 or dpittman@naacos.com