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Updates for Members and Partners
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CMS LAUNCHES HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM INITIATIVE
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The Trump administration recently announced a public-private commitment to create a patient-centric health care technology ecosystem. Several NAACOS members have pledged their commitment to support CMS’ strategy. As part of this initiative, NAACOS previously submitted comments in response to the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) Health Technology Ecosystem request for information (RFI) in support of these patient-centric modernization efforts.
NAACOS will continue to influence the administration’s efforts, ensuring that providers in value-based care can design and implement impactful approaches to optimize the flow of health information across the care continuum. NAACOS will be continuing this work through a Health IT Workgroup. Interested NAACOS members and business partners should contact Ivory Harding ([email protected]) to join.
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CONGRESS RETURNS HOME FOR AUGUST RECESS
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The House and Senate are in recess until after Labor Day. When lawmakers return to Washington in September, they will be faced with a September 30 deadline to extend government funding and expiring health programs. NAACOS will be calling for Congress to support ACOs by extending Medicare’s Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM) incentive payments and adjusting qualifying thresholds.
Since many lawmakers will be traveling to meet with constituents during August, it’s a great time to engage directly with Members of Congress by inviting them for site visits or attending town hall meetings. If your organization has any advocacy meetings planned with lawmakers during August, please contact [email protected] for assistance with talking points or background materials.
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CMS TO REPROCESS FAILED ADVANCED APM INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
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CMS began paying advanced APM incentives for Performance Year 2023/Payment Year 2025 earlier this summer. On July 1, 2025, CMS published a list of unpaid QPs for payment year 2025. NAACOS members have noticed a significant increase in the number of clinicians who have been included on the non-payment list.
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- CMS confirmed that the agency will be reprocessing the affected payments and anticipates making them in late summer. While CMS expects that reprocessing the payments will resolve the issue for most impacted clinicians, the agency is also encouraging providers to go ahead and send in their forms as a safeguard in the event that any further troubleshooting is necessary.
- CMS has also communicated that ACOs will not need to submit a billing form for all affected NPIs if they are all using the same billing information (TIN, Billing NPI, PTAN and MAC ID). One form will suffice with an excel sheet with all the NPIs listed. Clinicians have until September 1 to update their payment information.
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CMS RELEASES FINAL PAYMENT RULE FOR INPATIENT/LTC HOSPITALS
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The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule was released last week, and it finalizes an increase in IPPS operating payment rates of 2.6 percent and an increase in the long-term care (LTC) hospital standard payment rate of 2.7 percent.
CMS also finalized minor changes to the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), including a limited deferment for certain hospitals, modifications to the target price construction and quality measures of the model, and expanded access to skilled nursing facility (SNF) care through a broader waiver. The mandatory model is set to begin January 1, 2026, and run through December 31, 2030. We will be convening a workgroup to discuss the model and ways to support members in TEAM. Please reach out to Diwen Chen if you are interested in joining the TEAM Deep Dive Roundtable.
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PRECONFERENCE FALL WORKSHOPS ANNOUNCED
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Connect and learn at the Fall 2025 Conference on October 8-10 at the Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C.! The agenda features expert-led sessions that include Chris Klomp and Abe Sutton of CMS, as they share key insights into evolving federal value-based care initiatives, and Dr. Pippa Shulman of Medically Home, a pioneer in delivering acute care in the home. The agenda also offers networking opportunities for participants, speakers, and vendors to share ideas, explore partnerships, and gain insight. In conjunction with the main conference, we offer pre-conference workshops that take a deep dive into key issues facing the industry. Three pre-conference workshops will be held concurrently on Wednesday, October 8 from 1:00 – 5:00 pm ET. These workshops require separate registration from the main meeting and include:
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- Payer-Provider Partnerships in the Community chaired by Diwen Chen, NAACOS
- Compliance & Legal Scuba Session chaired by Kimberly Busenbark, Wilems Resource Group
- Leadership, Provider, and Patient Engagement chaired by Michelle Mirkovič, Southwestern Health Resources
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REGISTER FOR REGIONAL MEETINGS; MIDWEST NEXT WEEK IN INDY
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Register today for the upcoming regional meetings occurring in August and September. These regional meetings provide an opportunity to engage in value-based care presentations and discussions with regional health care leaders from provider groups, payers, and thought leaders from the care continuum in value-based care contracts. There is still time to register for and attend the Midwest Meeting on August 15 in Indianapolis.
Our regional meetings are open to NAACOS members, non-member ACOs, and value-based care providers. In-person events are $250 per registrant, and each NAACOS ACO and value-based care provider member receives one complimentary registration per calendar year, with unlimited additional registrations to be purchased at the prevailing rate. Contact [email protected] to utilize your complimentary registration or ask questions.
Registration is also open for virtual events this August and September, including the Northeast, Northwest, and Southeast regions. There is no charge to attend virtual events for NAACOS members, non-member ACOs, and value-based care providers. These events are not open to non-sponsoring business partners.
Registration for the in-person Southwest meeting in November will open this month, location and date to be announced. In addition, we are starting to plan for an in-person South Central/Gulf regional meeting scheduled for early 2026. If you are interested in joining a focus group to help shape this meeting, please email [email protected].
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If you are interested in speaking on any of the agenda topics listed for your region, please reply to [email protected]. Watch for updates and additional registration links in future newsletters and on our Regional Meeting Webpage.
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SUMMER AFFINITY GROUPS CONTINUE
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Role-based member Affinity Group discussions are held on Tuesdays. We hope you were able to join our July Data & Analytics Affinity Group. More group meetings are coming for our summer round of discussions.
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If you’re new to NAACOS, Affinity Groups are peer-to-peer role-focused discussion groups where members can exchange insights, ideas, and collaborate on current challenges. These groups meet four times a year, twice virtually and twice in person at our Spring and Fall Conferences.
Learn more about Affinity Groups and register through the links above or through the Learning Tab on our website.
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DON’T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR NAACOS CONNECT!
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This new and improved version of the NAACOS ListServ is buzzing with activity and the perfect way to share information or get answers to your questions about work happening in value-based care. NAACOS Connect runs on the Telegram platform, which is a free messaging app you can access on your mobile device or computer. Find a quick and easy installation guide on our website, and then join our private members-only channel to immediately jump into the conversation! If you have any questions, contact [email protected] for assistance.
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- A free resource for ACOs and other risk bearing entities that frames how to evaluate quality and performance measures related to hospice care.
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