HHS: 30% of Medicare fee-for-service payments tied to quality or value

An estimated 30% of Medicare fee-for-service payments were tied to quality or value through alternative payment models as of January, up from 20% in 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced yesterday. “This milestone was met when 121 new accountable care organizations joined the Medicare program on top of new participants in models such as the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative and Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative,” the agency said. “…Much of these results are accelerated by the work of partners across the health care system who are stepping up in this transformation and leading the way towards alternative payment models.” The agency last January set the goal of tying 30% of Medicare FFS payments to alternative payment models by the end of 2016, and 50% by the end of 2018. For more on Medicare’s alternative payment models, see the CMS factsheet.