Fall 2026 Conference Agenda
October 14–16
Marriott Marquis, Washington, D.C.
NAACOS conferences are the only events organized exclusively by ACOs.
Schedule: Wednesday (pre-conference workshops): 1:00–5:00 pm ET
Thursday (Main Meeting): 7:30 am–6:30 pm ET
Friday (Main Meeting): 7:30 am–3:00 pm ET
Plenaries:
The New Enterprise: Designing for Long-term Value in an Era of Disruption
As fee-for-service pressures mount, integrated delivery networks are doubling down on value – restructuring their enterprises to put total cost of care and clinical outcomes at the center of their long-term strategy. These integrated delivery networks are led by health systems with deep community roots and a long view. They are building new structures and forging new partnerships even as the ground shifts beneath them. From health plan integration to clinically aligned networks, these leaders have made bold structural moves to advance value-based payment models – and they’re not turning back. Central to their strategy is engaging the independent physicians who serve the neighborhoods they call home. In doing so, they’re building trust and alignment beyond their own walls to drive outcomes across the full continuum of care.
New Models Forge New Allies: How Enablers are Evolving Health System Partnerships to Advance Accountable Care
Enablement companies and conveners have long partnered with independent practices to support accountable care, but these CEOs see health systems as powerful allies, bringing community scale, clinical infrastructure, and a long-term commitment to population health that opens new opportunities. At the same time, engaging with a health system requires a fundamentally different playbook to navigate existing structures, realign incentives, and find the white space where an enabler can add value. The model landscape is shifting too, as conveners move participation from CMMI models toward the Medicare Shared Savings Program. These leaders will speak candidly about where the opportunities lie, where the friction is, and how they are building the collaborations that will define the next chapter of accountable care.
Thursday, October 15
|
Time |
Session |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
7:00 am |
Registration Opens |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
|
7:30 – |
Sponsored Breakfast 1 |
Capitol/ |
|
7:30 – |
Sponsored Breakfast 2 |
Archives |
|
7:30 – |
Sponsored Breakfast 3 |
Shaw/LeDroit |
|
8:30 – |
Opening Plenary Welcome CMS Speaker Panel: The New Enterprise: Designing for Long-term Value in an Era of Disruption |
Liberty Ballroom |
|
10:30 – |
Breaks |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
|
11:00 am – |
New Players, New Possibilities: Engaging High-Cost Practices and Serving High-Needs Beneficiaries through the LEAD Model The LEAD Model introduces new opportunities for ACOs to expand participation and accelerate innovation. Through its add-on payment for organizations with expenditures above regional benchmarks, LEAD creates a pathway to engage high-cost practices that have historically remained outside of accountable care arrangements. At the same time, LEAD’s high-needs benchmarking approach creates opportunities for all participants to develop new approaches for improving outcomes and managing costs for complex populations. This session will explore how organizations are identifying and recruiting high-cost providers, aligning incentives to support participation, and redesigning care models to better serve high-needs beneficiaries. |
Capitol/ |
|
11:00 am – |
Own the Risk, Own the Reward: Reclaiming Independence in an Accountable Care Economy Provider groups have partnered with enablement companies and clinically integrated networks to navigate value-based contracting and take accountability for total cost of care and clinical outcomes. A growing number of groups – some fiercely independent, others looking to break free – are now asking a different question: why share the reward when you’ve done the work to earn it? This session explores the resurgence of provider-led entities as vehicles for independence in a complex and consolidating environment. Once dismissed as relics of the 90s, these structures are proving newly relevant as experienced provider groups build the infrastructure, data capabilities, and clinical governance needed to manage risk on their own terms. |
Archives |
|
11:00 am – |
Driving Value in Episodic Care: Practical Strategies for CJR-X and TEAM As CMS advances the next generation of episode-based payment models through CJR-X and TEAM, hospitals, specialists, and post-acute providers face increasing accountability for cost, quality, and outcomes. Success under these models requires more than managing individual episodes – it demands strong physician alignment, effective post-acute care strategies, and coordinated approaches to caring for increasingly complex patients. This session will examine the operational and financial realities of participating in CJR-X and TEAM, including strategies for engaging specialists, optimizing post-acute networks, managing episode performance, and navigating risk. |
Shaw/LeDroit |
|
11:00 am – |
Community Care Strategies to Support Duals and Other Complex Populations Integrating clinical and community/social care is crucial for successfully managing complex populations, addressing upstream drivers of health, and improving whole-person health. There has been significant interest around investments made, from public and private sources, in care models that have a more integrated, holistic approach for managing complex and low-income populations, including duals and near-duals. In this session, attendees will hear about operational perspectives and challenges from various stakeholders, including VBC organizations and community care hubs. Panelists will discuss successful strategies for integrating community care and areas of opportunity. |
Chinatown |
|
12:00 – |
Lunch Plenary |
Liberty Ballroom |
|
1:30 – |
Break |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
|
2:00 – |
Another Can of Alphabet Soup: A Conversation with CMS Leaders on New Models Federal value-based care models continue to evolve, bringing new opportunities, requirements, and questions for providers and accountable care organizations. This interactive session features senior leaders from CMS and the CMS Innovation Center in a candid discussion about the latest developments shaping the future of accountable care. Come prepared with your most pressing questions and submit them in advance through the Whova app so our panelists can address the issues that matter most to attendees. |
Capitol/ |
|
2:00 – |
Optimizing Network Design around Accessibility and Value Network design is no longer simply a coverage requirement; it is a strategic lever for improving care delivery, strengthening provider alignment, and driving better outcomes. As providers have more affiliation choices and network participation becomes increasingly fluid, organizations are compelled to rethink traditional approaches to network development, attribution, and long-term performance. This session explores how organizations have evolved from managing quality measures to assuming greater financial accountability, adapting their network design, physician alignment strategies, and care delivery models along the way. Data-driven strategies are imperative to navigating provider migration, network stability, market competition, and changing referral patterns while building high-performing networks across lines of business. Panelists will also share best practices for downstream payment arrangements and how these approaches can align incentives across the care continuum, strengthen care accountability, and advance value-based care success. |
Archives |
|
2:00 – |
Transitions of Care: Who’s Driving the Bus? Transitions of care remain one of the greatest opportunities and challenges in successfully navigating accountable care. While post-acute care accounts for a significant share of Medicare spending, communication, care coordination, and data sharing across acute, post-acute, primary care, and specialty providers are often fragmented. This session will explore how value-based care organizations are improving transitions of care through stronger post-acute partnerships, enhanced care coordination, and strategic use of beneficiary enhancement waivers. Panelists will share practical lessons learned while tackling a fundamental question in accountable care: who’s driving the bus during transitions of care? |
Shaw/LeDroit |
|
2:00 – |
Integrating Behavioral Health into Your Accountable Care Strategy Behavioral health is a key driver of cost and outcomes, with unmet needs contributing to avoidable utilization and exacerbations of chronic conditions. Compounded by social and economic factors, severe access issues and workforce shortages, many value-based care organizations have found it challenging to address behavioral health needs in their populations. In this session with the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness (ABHW), attendees will hear how organizations are integrating behavioral health into accountable care strategies and approaching VBC contracting for behavioral health. |
Chinatown |
|
3:30 – |
Break |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
|
4:00 – |
Affinity Group – Operations and Executives |
Capitol/ |
|
4:00 – |
Affinity Group |
Archives |
|
4:00 – |
Affinity Group – |
Shaw/LeDroit |
|
4:00 – |
Affinity Group – Compliance and Legal |
Chinatown |
|
5:30 – |
Reception |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
Friday, October 16
|
Time |
Session |
Location |
|---|---|---|
|
7:00 |
Registration Opens |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
|
7:30 – |
Sponsored Breakfast 1 |
Capitol/ |
|
7:30 – |
Sponsored Breakfast 2 |
Archives |
|
7:30 – |
Sponsored Breakfast 3 |
Shaw/LeDroit |
|
8:30 – |
Plenary Panel
|
Liberty Ballroom |
|
9:30 – |
Break |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
|
10:00 – |
The Next Decision Point: MSSP, LEAD, and the Financial Road Ahead As organizations prepare for the next phase of accountable care, leaders must evaluate how MSSP and LEAD align with their financial goals, operational capabilities, and long-term strategy for growth. This session will explore the key considerations shaping participation decisions, including TIN alignment, risk and reward opportunities, model flexibilities, and organizational readiness. Panelists will share how they are evaluating participation options, structuring their organizations for success, and positioning themselves to navigate an evolving policy and financial landscape. |
Capitol/ |
|
10:00 – |
Accelerating Accountable Chronic Care through Specialist Engagement Integrating specialists into accountable care requires more than financial alignment, network design, or participation in alternative payment models, it requires rethinking how care is delivered. This session will feature practicing specialists who are working with primary care in accountable care entities to redesign care pathways, improve coordination between primary and specialty care, and better manage patients with chronic and complex conditions. Speakers will share real-world experiences on what it takes to embed specialty care into accountable care models, including approaches to referral management, co-management, care navigation, patient engagement, and clinical collaboration. |
Archives |
|
10:00 – |
Aligning Around the Patient: Payer and Provider Partnerships in Action From supplemental benefits and care management programs to outreach calls and in-home services, today’s health care ecosystem is rich with patient touchpoints – yet many patients still experience overwhelming and fragmented care. Payers and providers are separately investing heavily in engagement, but without intentional alignment, these efforts can lead to duplicative outreach, mixed messaging, and a disjointed experience that undermines trust and value. This session explores how payers can design supplemental benefits and outreach strategies that synchronize with providers responsible for longitudinal care and coordination. Panelists will examine how collaborative approaches can both simplify and enrich the patient journey. The discussion will also surface persistent challenges, highlight areas of misalignment, and identify opportunities to better coordinate efforts, minimize confusion, and deliver a more seamless, patient-centered experience. |
Shaw/LeDroit |
|
10:00 – |
ACCESS Granted: Unlocking Partnerships to Advance Care The ACCESS Model depends on strong partnerships between ACOs and ACCESS participants. In this moderated panel, we will discuss what early implementation looks like on the ground: how partnerships are being structured, where the operational and data challenges are emerging, and what it takes to position for long-term performance. The conversation offers a direct line to people shaping and testing the model, with practical takeaways for any organization building its own ACCESS collaborations. |
Chinatown |
|
11:00 – |
Break |
Independence Foyer and Ballroom |
|
11:30 am – |
Inside View of Excellence Awardees’ Success: How Top Performers Deliver Value and Growth NAACOS Excellence Awards recognize high-performing accountable care providers who exemplify sustained success and a deep commitment to advancing value-based care through measurable performance and transformative change across their organization. Leaders from our 2026 honorees will offer an inside look at what sets them apart and share candid insights into their strategies, challenges, and the pivotal decisions that fuel their success. Attendees will gain practical, real-world perspectives from organizations that are leading the way in delivering high-value care. |
Capitol/ |
|
11:30 am – |
From Funding to Impact: Leveraging the Rural Health Transformation Program to Advance Accountable Care States across the country are receiving Rural Health Transformation Program grants and moving quickly to invest in infrastructure, strengthen rural health care delivery, and accelerate the transition to accountable care. As states face ambitious timelines to deploy funding and demonstrate measurable outcomes, providers, health systems, and community partners are collaborating to implement innovative solutions that improve care and support long-term sustainability. Join this session to learn about early implementation experiences, emerging best practices, and practical strategies to create lasting impact for rural communities. |
Archives |
|
11:30 am – |
Bridging the Gap: Align Your ACO’s Strategies for Quality Reporting and Quality Improvement Current quality reporting requirements in ACO models are largely disconnected from organizations’ overall quality improvement and population health management efforts, but organizations are beginning to leverage broader interoperability efforts to increase quality performance scores. In this session, attendees will learn how organizations are leveraging digital data connections, such as health information exchange (HIE) and Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA)-based exchange to close quality gaps, bolster ACO quality performance, and prepare for the transition to digital quality measures (dQMs). This forward-looking panel will include a conversation with policymakers and industry leaders on the shift to FHIR. |
Shaw/LeDroit |
|
11:30 am – |
TBD |
Chinatown |
|
1:00 – |
Lunch |
Liberty Ballroom |