NAACOS Honors Members of Congress for Leadership in Accountable Care
WASHINGTON (September 18, 2026) – The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) is honored to recognize four Members of Congress with its annual Champions of Value in Health Care Award. Presented during the NAACOS Fall Advocacy Summit and Hill Day, the award recognizes lawmakers who have furthered accountable care by supporting health care transformation by promoting policies that reward high-quality, patient-centered care that reduces costs and delivers better health outcomes.
“NAACOS values its partnership with lawmakers who are helping advance policies that protect Medicare beneficiaries, support physicians and care teams, and preserve Medicare’s long-term sustainability,” said Emily Brower, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of ACOs. “Together, we can continue building on the success of accountable care to improve health outcomes, enhance patient experiences, and provide broader access to high-quality care.”
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) have generated more than $37.4 billion in total savings since 2012 while improving care quality for seniors in Medicare. Over the last 10 years, average savings per ACO beneficiary have grown from $77 to more than $700 as practices have expanded investments in population health to care for more than 14.6 million traditional Medicare beneficiaries.
This year’s honorees have played a critical role in building on this momentum.
- Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09) led efforts to encourage the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to address fraud, waste, and abuse without disadvantaging ACOs and other value-based providers, as well as urging the agency to consider changes to benchmarking methodologies to ensure stable, predictable, and fair approaches.
- Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06) helped ensure an extension of the Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM) incentive payments was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026. This sent an important signal to physicians, hospitals, and ACOs of Congress’ ongoing commitment to supporting the transition to APMs.
- Representatives Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) and Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) sponsored new legislation proposing full-risk payment arrangements across all ACOs to reward clinicians willing to take on greater financial accountability for patient costs and outcomes.
Beyond these standout representatives, NAACOS members met with more than 80 Members of Congress during the organization’s Fall Advocacy Summit and Hill Day to build support on Capitol Hill for value-based payment models that have been successful in improving the quality and reducing the cost of care for seniors covered through traditional Medicare.
For more information on the National Association of ACOs policy priorities, go to: https://www.naacos.com/naacos-congressional-priorities/.
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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.