A coalition of hospital and physician organizations, including the AHA, yesterday urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to give Medicare accountable care organizations the option to use pre-pandemic spending benchmarks to set financial targets beginning in performance year 2022.

“By allowing an option to use earlier years to set MSSP benchmarks for certain ACOs, CMS will avoid the anomalies in utilization resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This provides a more credible baseline for certain ACOs disproportionately harmed by the pandemic,” the letter states. “Those such ACOs are currently evaluating whether to enter new five-year agreement periods. Having a longer agreement period means the effects of pandemic-stricken years will follow ACOs for a significant amount of time. This is particularly problematic as ACOs move to take on greater levels of risk.”

 

Related News Articles

Headline
The House Budget Committee May 18 advanced the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation bill by a 17-16 vote along party lines, as four Republicans who…
Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Committee today advanced by a 30-24 vote along party lines its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill following a…
Headline
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. May 14 testified on President Trump’s discretionary budget proposal for fiscal year…
Headline
The House Ways and Means Committee today advanced its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill by a 26-19 vote along party lines, following an hours…
Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Committee May 13 began to mark up its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill. The committee has been instructed to…
Headline
The House Ways and Means Committee May 13 began to mark up its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill, with some proposals impacting the health…