NAACOS Reiterates Support and Recommendations for Improving
Patients First Act
Legislative Hearing Provides Opportunity to Strengthen Physician Payment Reform
Statement from Emily Brower, president and CEO of NAACOS
WASHINGTON (September 15, 2026) – The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) welcomes the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health’s hearing on the Patients First Act (H.R. 9693) and other important health care legislation.
NAACOS appreciates that the bill retains higher payment updates for clinicians in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (AAPMs). Paired with the APM incentive payment, participation in risk-based arrangements has grown to include more than 525,000 physicians and other clinicians. As a result, these incentives have helped deliver more than $14.5 billion in savings to Medicare since 2012 while improving quality care and health outcomes for more than 14.3 million beneficiaries.
Lawmakers should build on this progress by refining the Patients First Act to further support health care transformation. NAACOS has shared detailed recommendations with the House Republican and Democratic Doctors Caucuses, including the following priorities:
- Restore the APM incentive payment to sustain participation in accountable care until payment updates for physicians and clinicians in AAPMs are a stronger financial option than participating in fee-for-service.
- Refine the definition of “excluded practice” to ensure clinicians in ACOs, clinically integrated networks, independent practice associations, or other organizations that provide administrative support can participate in hybrid payments.
- Exclude clinicians participating in accountable care arrangements from MIPS or POINTS reporting since similar requirements are already met through their AAPM.
NAACOS and its members appreciate Congress’ collaborative and transparent approach to advancing physician payment reform. The Patients First Act represents an important first step toward protecting patient access to high-quality care while strengthening Medicare’s transition to accountable care and value-based payment.
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About NAACOS. The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) is a member-led and member-governed nonprofit of more than 500 ACOs and value-based care entities in Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance working on behalf of physicians, health systems, and other providers across the nation to improve quality of care for patients and reduce health care cost. NAACOS represents more than 10 million beneficiary lives through Medicare’s population health-focused payment and delivery models.