NAACOS Launches Coalition for ACO REACH Model Participants

The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) has launched a coalition to help providers learn about and prepare for the new ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) model.

The coalition comes one week after CMS announced the ACO REACH model, which builds upon past Medicare accountable care organizations and aims to advance health equity.

“The ACO REACH model is a positive step on the important journey to value-based care and will support CMS’s work to have all Medicare beneficiaries in an accountable care relationship by 2030,” Clif Gaus, ScD, president and chief executive officer of NAACOS, stated in the press release.

“The REACH model’s focus on equity, increased provider governance, improvements to risk adjustment, and other changes are critical updates to accountable care that will benefit patients and historically underserved communities.”

According to NAACOS, the coalition will offer interested providers in-depth resources and educational materials. After the ACO REACH model launches in 2023, the coalition will also support providers that participate in the model.

The coalition will generate webinars and resources that analyze critical aspects of the ACO model. NAACOS will also operate a standalone web page that provides essential resources for providers.

In addition, the coalition plans to host in-person conference sessions and networking events, create a listserv for communication, and welcome any recommendations about improvements to the model that would benefit participating providers and their patients, according to NAACOS.

NAACOS members are automatically enrolled in the ACO REACH Coalition. Organizations that are not members can sign up to learn more about the coalition on the NAACOS website.

“The new ACO REACH Coalition will help drive model participation and ensure REACH will be the next in a growing line of successful accountable care models,” Gaus said.

“As the accountable care movement grows and evolves, so too must NAACOS. We are fully embracing the ACO REACH model and look forward to supporting its ACO participants.”

CMS presented the ACO REACH model as a redesigned value-based payment model that would replace the Global and Professional Direct Contracting model.

NAACOS, along with more than 200 other healthcare organizations, previously urged HHS to adjust the Direct Contracting model instead of canceling the program. The model allowed a wide range of organizations to participate in alternative payment models that offer quality improvement incentives and capitated payments for care coordination in Medicare fee-for-service.

Although a handful of stakeholders advocated for the program’s end, NAACOS stated that terminating the model would hurt participating ACOs and their patients.

CMS implemented several changes with the ACO REACH model that NAACOS recommended, including prioritizing provider-led organizations, increasing beneficiary protections, and changing the payment model’s name.

Additionally, the new ACO model will require all participants to develop and implement a health equity plan that helps address care disparities and beneficiary needs in underserved communities.