The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Innovation Center (CMMI) released a strategic refresh in 2021 to have all Medicare beneficiaries and the majority of Medicaid beneficiaries in accountable care relationships by 2030. This week, CMMI released their one-year report on the implementation of the strategic refresh.

The one-year report highlights details around better care for beneficiaries through more coordinated and higher quality care, data transparency and advancing health equity. The report also emphasizes that CMMI will continue launching new accountable care models that increase access to care, developing strategies to better integrate primary and specialty care, and improve incentives for providers.

In addition, CMMI released a blog post this week that outlines ways the strategy refresh implementation will continue by testing payment models and tools that can improve access to specialty care. CMMI plans to enhance the transparency of performance measures for specialists in order to integrate better with primary care. One way CMMI plans to do so is by enhancing specialty care data and dashboards, giving model participants the ability to compare the quality and costs of procedural or acute episodes of care. CMMI also plans to maintain engagement that was established by episode payment models by extending the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced Model for two more years through the end of 2025, and launching a new model for beneficiaries with cancer.

CMMI will be improving collaboration between primary care and specialty care physicians by expanding the use of electronic consults and enhanced referrals in advanced primary care models. Furthermore, CMMI plans to create financial incentives for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to manage specialty care through beneficiary alignment changes. These incentives will allow ACOs to focus on managing the highest cost and most complex care, especially for cardiovascular conditions.

Overall, the strategic refresh will focus primarily on improving value-based payment models through restructuring payments, improving collaboration between primary and specialty care, and ensuring high quality and equitable patient care. Access the one-year report here.

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Accountable Care Organizations, Medicare, Medicaid, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., Episode of Care, Health Equity, Motivation, Neoplasms, Patient-Centered Care, Electronics, Physicians, Referral and Consultation

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