The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) is set to announce today it is testing the Advance Payment Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model for participants in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The Shared Savings Program provides incentives for participating health care providers who agree to work together and become accountable for coordinating care for patients. The Advance Payment ACO Model is designed to test whether physician-owned or rural providers participating in the Shared Savings Program would benefit from additional start-up resources to build the necessary infrastructure, such as new staff or information technology systems. Selected participants in the testing of the Advance Payment ACO Model will receive upfront and monthly payments, which they can use to make important investments in their care coordination infrastructures.
Last October, the Innovation Center had announced that applications for the testing of the Advance Payment ACO model would only be accepted for the Shared Savings Program start dates of April 1, 2012 and July 1, 2012. Today, however, the Innovation Center announced that it is accepting applications for an additional round of Advance Payment ACO Model for organizations that would begin the Shared Savings Program on January 1, 2013.
Organizations interested in the testing of the Advance Payment ACO Model should start their application process by submitting a mandatory non-binding Notice of Intent (NOI) to apply for the Shared Savings Program performance period that begins January 1, 2013. This NOI is due June 30, 2012. Organizations that submit this NOI will then have the opportunity to submit applications to both the Shared Savings Program and the Advance Payment ACO Model. Information regarding the Shared Savings Program and the NOI is available here. More information about the Advance Payment ACO model is available here.
For more information, please contact John F. Williams, III at 317.977.1462 ( jwilliams@wp.hallrender.com) or your regular Hall Render attorney.
