The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it is converting the Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) model to a new model called Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH).
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on ECG's website.
The new model revises several challenging financial mechanisms of the GPDC (e.g., reducing the quality withhold and CMS discount, benchmarking for underserved populations) while adding new health equity requirements that many healthcare organizations may already be addressing under the umbrella of social determinants of health (SDOH).
In short, CMS’s updates make the ACO REACH model even more inviting to provider organizations that were previously considering GPDC as an advanced alternative payment model (A-APM) or that missed out on the opportunity to apply.
Below we have outlined the reasons why providers may want to participate in ACO REACH, key updates (from GPDC to ACO REACH), and next steps in the application process. Given the aggressive time frame—a nonbinding application is due Friday, April 22, 2022—we’ve also shared some of our insights from past experience assessing organizational readiness and successfully submitting applications for Medicare Shared Savings ACOs and GPDCs. Click here to continue>>
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