Twenty-two healthcare organizations — which include physicians, hospitals, medical group practices, academic medical centers and nearly all Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organizations — wrote a letter to CMS calling for changes to the ACO benchmarking methodology.
The letter is in response to a rule proposed by CMS in early February to modify the benchmark rebasing methodology for ACOs in the MSSP. In the letter, the organizations voiced support for using regional cost data to set benchmarks in addition to historical cost data that is currently used. This will help avoid penalizing ACOs for previous successes by setting increasingly difficult benchmarks. By also incorporating regional cost data, CMS can help improve the longevity of the program, the organizations wrote.
The groups also called for providing maximum flexibility for ACOs transitioning to new benchmarks that incorporate regional cost data and called for comparing ACO performance to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, among other recommendations.
"Our recommendations reflect our unified expectation and desire to see the MSSP achieve the long-term sustainability necessary to enhance care coordination for Medicare beneficiaries, lower the growth rate of healthcare spending and improve quality in the Medicare program," the letter reads. "Given our analyses show ACOs on average spend three percent less than comparable fee-for-service expenditures, it should remain a priority of the secretary to refine the model in ways that will promote further program growth."
The letter also calls for CMS to designate all MSSP ACOs as part of the alternative payment models under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act so that physicians in these ACOs can qualify for MACRA incentive payments.
Organizations that signed the letter include the Medical Group Management Association, the National Association of ACOs, the American College of Physicians and the American Medical Association. Click here for a full list.
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