CMS selects four organizations to lead rural health care model track

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Friday awarded four organizations an initial $2 million each to serve as lead organizations for the Community Transformation Track in the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation Model. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, South Dakota Department of Social Services, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and Washington State Healthcare Authority will recruit and partner with participating hospitals and other stakeholders in a rural area to develop and implement a strategy to improve health equity and access to care in rural communities. 

The two-track CHART model, announced last August, seeks to provide up-front funding and predictable payments that are less dependent on service volume, and reduce regulatory burden and increase flexibilities for model participants. In spring 2022, CMS plans to request applications from rural accountable care organizations to participate in the model’s ACO Transformation Track as part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program.