New CMS Rules For Medicare Shared Savings Create New Higher-Risk ACO Track

In a final rule issued June 9, 2015, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) rules to create a new risk-based ACO track that has a higher rate of shared savings, 75%, compared to the current 50% rate for one-sided risk ACO agreements. For the ACOs participating in the new track, beneficiaries will be prospectively assigned based on primary care utilization, and the ACO evaluations will be based only on data for those beneficiaries. The final rule also enhances the focus on primary care services and provides additional flexibility . . .