Date: February 25, 2022
As part of its renewed vision and strategy for driving health system transformation (PDF), the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center) is releasing a Request for Applications (RFA) (PDF) for the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) Model.
ACO REACH is a redesign of the Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) Model in response to stakeholder feedback, participant experience, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities, including a commitment to advancing health equity. Its new name better reflects the purpose of the model: to improve the quality of care for people with Medicare through better care coordination, reaching and connecting health care providers and beneficiaries, including those who are underserved.
Further, in an effort to improve transparency, CMS is releasing more information on current GPDC Model participants (PDF) and strengthening model monitoring to ensure beneficiaries whose providers participate in GPDC and ACO REACH continue to receive high-quality, patient-centered care.
GPDC will transition to ACO REACH on January 1, 2023. Current GPDC Model participants must agree to meet all the ACO REACH Model requirements by January 1, 2023 to continue participating in the ACO REACH Model as ACOs.
CMS will be hosting an overview webinar on the ACO REACH Model RFA on March 1 at 4 PM Eastern Time. Please click here to register for this event.
Additionally, CMS is announcing the permanent cancelation of the Geographic Direct Contracting Model (Geo). The Geo Model was announced in December 2020 and paused in March 2021 and is being canceled because it does not align with CMS’ vision for accountable care and concerns raised by stakeholders.
For more information about the CMS Innovation Center’s new strategy and the future of value-based care:
- Visit the CMS Innovation Center Strategic Direction webpage, which includes materials from past events and more.
- Read the CMS Innovation Center Strategy FAQs.
- See the CMS Innovation Center Strategy Refresh At-a-Glance document.
For more information on the ACO REACH Model, please see the ACO REACH Fact Sheet.
For more information on the current GPDC participants, please see the GPDC Model Participant Summary (PDF).