CMS releases inaugural-year evaluation of BPCI Advanced

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week released the first annual report evaluating the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced Model.

The alternative payment model, launched in October 2018 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, tests whether linking Medicare provider payments with episodes of care can reduce Medicare expenditures while improving quality.

The report provides a formative evaluation of the BPCI Advanced Model from Oct. 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019 and describes the participants and episode initiators; their participation decisions, including their choices of clinical episodes; and the model’s reach. According to the agency, the next BPCI Advanced evaluation annual report will incorporate estimates of the impact of the model on payment, utilization and quality of care.