CMS announces advanced APM bundled payment model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will accept applications through March 12 for a new voluntary bundled payment model that will qualify as an advanced alternative payment model under Medicare’s Quality Payment Program for clinicians. Announced yesterday, the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced model will allow acute care hospitals and physician group practices to receive a single bundled payment for any of 32 types or episodes of care, including 29 inpatient and three outpatient episodes. Participants must bear financial risk, implement care redesign activities and use certified electronic health records, and payments are tied to quality performance. Here is more on the model or to register to participate in a Jan. 30 question-and-answer session. “We are pleased with CMS’s announcement of new voluntary payment bundles that will qualify as advanced alternative payment models under MACRA,” said Ashley Thompson, AHA senior vice president for public policy analysis and development. “These new models will facilitate hospital-clinician partnerships to provide patients with better, more efficient care. Additionally, it gives providers new options and opportunities to utilize their investments in moving towards value-based care.”