Caravan Health - Webinar Recap – Strategic Implications of CMS’s Proposed ACO Rule

On Thursday, August 23, experts from Caravan Health held an informational webinar discussing the new CMS proposed rule about the future of Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations. Caravan Health Senior Vice President Tim Gronniger and Policy and Compliance Officer LeeAnn Hastings reviewed the provisions of the proposed rule and how it could affect ACOs looking to join the program.

This proposed rule was highly anticipated before publication. Tim mentioned some anxiety around whether CMS would propose that all ACOs must take on downside risk right away and said, “The fact of having the rule out there takes away a big part of the uncertainty.” The key takeaway from the webinar is that both new and continuing ACOs will have reasonable options for ACO participation in 2019 and beyond.

CMS is proposing to allow new ACOs to stay in upside risk only for up to two years at the beginning of the program. Proposed changes to the risk path include replacing Tracks 1, 1+, 2, and 3 with new BASIC and ENHANCED tracks. The agreement terms for these new tracks would run for five years, rather than the current three. The new tracks would begin with upside-only risk, similar to current Track 1, but with a lower shared savings rate. ACOs progress along the glidepath, eventually taking on downside risk with the option to move along more quickly.

LeeAnn described additional proposed policy changes, such as availability of the SNF 3-day stay waiver, additional telehealth flexibility, and the Beneficiary Incentive Program for ACOs taking on two-sided risk.

The webinar covered a bit about regulatory process – this proposed rule will be open for comment until October 16 and will likely not be finalized until sometime early next year. This delayed timeline means that CMS built an additional six months into the process by starting the 2019 plan year July rather than January.

Check out our recent blog post for more thoughts on the proposed rule.

If you missed the presentation, click the link below to watch the recording on-demand.

WATCH THE WEBINAR HERE

CMS Unveils New Primary Care Value-Based Payment Models to Start in 2020

In late April, CMS introduced five new value-based payment model options that aim to transform primary care and shift providers to take risk on the cost of care for their patients.

ACO, News, Policy, CMS

March 28, 2019

Firsthand Experience with Accountable Care in Oregon - Interview with Dr. Divya Sharma

An accountable care organization can transform how care is delivered and prioritize new approaches to population health and primary care. We recently had a conversation with one of our ACO physician leaders, Dr. Divya Sharma, Chief Medical Officer for the Central Oregon Independent Practice Association in Bend, Oregon, about the most important lessons learned from joining an accountable care organization.

ACO

April 08, 2019

Mechanics of Collaborative ACOs Explained: Check Out Our Recent Webinar

In a Caravan Health collaborative ACO, a group of unrelated health systems come together to reach the scale necessary not just to participate, but to thrive in accountable care. In the last year, Caravan Health has taken the natural next step and combined lives to form even larger ACOs, including the largest Shared Savings Program ACO in the country with more than 200,000 attributed lives.

ACO