Companion bill to address Medicare ACO benchmarking flaw introduced

A coalition of 14 health care organizations, including the AHA, today voiced support for the Accountable Care in Rural America Act, the companion to Senate legislation that would revise the benchmarking formula for the Medicare Shared Savings Program to ensure participating accountable care organizations have an equal opportunity to share in savings regardless of their geographic location.
 
“This legislation fixes an important flaw in the current MSSP benchmarking methodology — a flaw that systematically disadvantages ACOs in rural areas and makes it harder for them to achieve savings even when they improve quality and reduce costs on par with their counterparts in urban areas,” the groups said in a letter of support for the bill, introduced today by Reps. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas; Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; Roger Marshall, R-Kan.; and Ami Bera, D-Calif.
 
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., introduced the Senate bill (S. 2648) last month.