The Community Health Access and Rural Transformation Model will not seek applications from accountable care organizations until next spring, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced today.

The two-track payment model, announced last year, will test whether upfront investments, predictable capitated payments, and operational and regulatory flexibilities improve rural health care access and quality while reducing costs. The one-year delay applies only to the model’s ACO track.

For more on the model and to sign up for email updates, visit the CMS website.

Related News Articles

Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Aug. 1 issued a final rule for the inpatient psychiatric facility prospective payment system for fiscal year…
Headline
The Senate Appropriations Committee July 31 advanced the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,…
Chairperson's File
Public
The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act will bring big changes to health care. AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack joined me for a Leadership Dialogue…
Headline
The AHA today expressed support for the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act, a bill that would eliminate the 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient…
Headline
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., July 15 introduced legislation that would repeal some of the Medicaid funding reductions included in the recently enacted One Big…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services July 14 released its calendar year 2026 proposed rule for the physician fee schedule. As required by…