Proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Strengthens the Path Towards Accountable Care
Statement from Emily Brower, president and chief executive officer, the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations
WASHINGTON (July 14, 2026) – The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) applauds Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for taking significant steps to expand accountable care in the proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
NAACOS has called on CMS to modernize ACOs to sustain and grow the program, reduce administrative burden, and drive innovation. The proposed rule would strengthen the Medicare Shared Saving Program (MSSP) by:
- Mitigating the benchmark ratchet by increasing the prior savings adjustment and establishing guardrails on the Accountable Care Prospective Trend (ACPT);
- Incenting new ACO participation through a benchmark growth adjustment for recruiting practices inexperienced with risk, or serving beneficiaries new to accountable care;
- Reducing burden and administrative costs by modifying quality reporting requirements, progressing towards digital quality measures (dQMs), and simplifying Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) reporting requirements;
- Addressing cash flow to practices by improving the Advanced Investment Payment program and seeking input on a permanent prospective primary care payment in the model; and
- Enhancing beneficiary engagement through cost-sharing reductions and improved beneficiary communications.
CMS projects that the proposed rules will bolster the impact ACOs have had by reducing Trust Fund expenditures by $5.5 billion through 2036.
NAACOS shares CMS’ goal of having all Medicare beneficiaries in an accountable care relationship. Today’s proposals are a positive step toward making this goal a reality and we look forward to continued collaboration.
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About NAACOS. The National Association of ACOs (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.