Medicare & Medicaid Programs
Expert articles and analysis related to medicare & medicaid programs.
AI Summary — Last 7 Days
CMS/CMMI under the Trump administration is pushing a more episode- and specialty-oriented VBC agenda, with musculoskeletal care emerging as a focal point through TEAM, ACCESS, LEAD, ASM, potential CJR expansion, and related falls-prevention concepts—signaling more mandatory or quasi-mandatory accountability for hospitals and specialists while raising operational concerns for providers not ready for downside risk. At the same time, the Medicare ACO agenda is splitting between calls to unlock more MSSP participation and savings and provider hesitation around newer models like ACO LEAD, where benchmark design, risk exposure, and administrative complexity remain key adoption barriers. The week’s throughline is that CMMI is validating prevention- and chronic-care models such as ACCESS while tightening expectations that health systems, safety-net providers, and specialty groups translate care redesign into measurable Medicare savings and quality gains (ACCESS model explained; CJR expansion).
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