2025 NAACOS Excellence Awards

Overview

The NAACOS Excellence Awards recognize high-performing organizations who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to and accomplishments in value-based care. Recipients of the award exemplify how value-based care can transform health care delivery by improving quality and outcomes, lowering or slowing growth of costs, and increasing patient and provider satisfaction. 

The call for submissions will be open from July 8 – August 5, 2025. Awardees will be notified in early September. Awards will be presented during a plenary session at the NAACOS fall conference being held October 8-10 at the Marriot Marquis in Washington, D.C. Additionally, awardees will present as part of a panel breakout discussion.

Award and Review Criteria

The award criteria were developed to gather information to support the selection of organizations who are furthering NAACOS’ mission of advancing provider-led transformation toward better care, improved health, and smarter spending by fostering collaboration and accountability in health care.

Forms should be submitted via email to [email protected], with the subject line “Excellence Award Submission – [INSERT ORG NAME].” Additional supporting evidence can be included as attachments. Applicants should include responses to each of the criteria categories critical to success in value-based care, detailed below. 

Required criteria:

1. Performance (40% of total score): The organization demonstrates sustained performance or significant improvement in value-based care across lines of business and payment models. Reviewers will be evaluating organizations for:
   • Improved quality and outcomes across multiple populations and areas of care; and 
   • Successful implementation of value-based payment arrangements with reductions in total cost of care across lines of business.
2. Data and Technology (30% of total score): The organization leverages technology and data to manage population health and improve clinical practice and patient care. Responses should highlight innovative uses of data and technology to:
   • Reduce provider burden or support practice-level care delivery improvements; and
   • Foster patient engagement or deploy patient-level care solutions. 
3. Partnership (30% of total score): Through approaches to partnering, the organization demonstrates a commitment to effective collaboration with providers, patients and community representatives, and across the broader care continuum in its value-based care efforts. Nominations should detail ways the organization works to: 
   • Engage external providers and collaborate with other elements of the care delivery continuum (e.g., post-acute care, palliative care, etc.); and
   • Foster engagement with the broader community, such as by partnering with community-based organizations and other community care providers.

Additional information and guidelines: 

• The selection committee will consider the award criteria and evidence included in each criteria response to support the selection of two to three organizations successful in value-based care and to reflect the diversity of ACOs and value-based care entities. Suitable evidence includes trend data demonstrating savings across contracts, year-over-year quality improvement, demonstrated growth of initiatives, etc. Evidence should be noted within the submission form, with additional documentation included as a separate attachment in the submission email. 
• Submissions will only be considered from NAACOS member organizations. Only one submission per NAACOS member will be considered. 
• The selected awardees must commit to having a senior leader from their organization present at the Fall 2025 NAACOS meeting to accept the award and speak at the award breakout panel.
• Past Excellence Award winners are ineligible to be selected for three years from their last award year.

The submission form may have accessibility limitations. If you need assistance with the submission form, or have any questions, please contact [email protected].