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Updates for Members and Partners
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NAACOS 2026 ACO AND VBC MEMBERSHIP DUES
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Beginning January 1, 2026, NAACOS will update membership dues for ACO and value-based care provider groups. The increase will support investments in resources and educational opportunities to continue to deliver exceptional experiences and value to members. As a part of this update, 2026 membership benefits include low-cost registration of $50 for all in-person Regional Meetings; complimentary virtual Regional Meetings; updated members-only ListServ; new shared learning groups; ACO Dashboard Reports; and more.
Details on the new dues rates are available on our website. Any ACO or VBC provider group with a membership renewal date on or before March 31, 2026, can pay their dues in advance by December 31, 2025, to lock in the current 2025 dues rate. For questions or to take advantage of this offer, please contact [email protected]. We thank you for your continued support and collaboration as we strive to drive progress in accountable care.
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JOIN NAACOS FOR ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS
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Each year, NAACOS hosts a Meeting of Members to update you on the state of our association. On December 4 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET, hear from NAACOS Board leaders and staff about our strategic direction moving into 2026, as well as updates on our Education, Policy and Membership initiatives. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with NAACOS and hear more about how we can collaborate with you to drive progress in accountable care. Register today.
Each year, NAACOS distributes a survey to our ACO and value-based care members to ensure we are bringing value to your organization and to identify areas where you could use more support. Your feedback is important to help us understand the usefulness of our resources and how we can improve them. This survey should take no more than five minutes of your time. We thank you in advance for your participation!
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TUNE IN NEXT WEEK TO NAACOS’ PFS WEBINAR
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On November 20 from 2:00–3:15pm ET, NAACOS will host an informative webinar reviewing key changes finalized in the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) rule that are most relevant for ACOs. While mostly minor changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) were finalized, CMS made significant changes to physician payment policies and drastically modified how skin substitute products will be paid to curb widespread fraud, waste, and abuse identified by ACOs. Register today to join! In December, NAACOS will host an in-depth discussion of the Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM), which is the mandatory model finalized to begin in 2027. Register here to join the ASM discussion.
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LAWMAKERS REACH AGREEMENT TO END GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
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At more than 40 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has finally ended after congressional leaders secured a bipartisan agreement. Funding for most federal programs is extended through January 30, 2026. This includes a retroactive extension of expired health programs, including:
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- Medicare telehealth flexibilities,
- Hospital-at-home,
- Geographic wage adjustments,
- Disproportionate Share Hospital payments, and
- Other Medicare extenders.
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Additional guidance from CMS is expected on how claims will be reprocessed.
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- Funding for Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Legislative Branch, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs will also be extended through September 30, 2026.
- The funding deal also reverses shutdown layoffs and prevents automatic 4 percent Medicare sequester cuts that were set for January 2026.
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The funding agreement reached in Congress to re-open the federal government did not address changes to the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits — the issue at the center of the shutdown. While Senate Republican leaders have agreed to allow a vote on legislation to extend the premium tax credits by mid-December, it’s unclear whether there’s enough bipartisan support for the measure to pass in either chamber.
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REMINDER: TARGETED REVIEWS DUE NOVEMBER 14
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PQM SEEKS FEEDBACK ON DIGITAL QUALITY MEASURES
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Battelle’s Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM), as a consensus-based entity, is seeking input on how shifting to digital quality measures (dQMs) will affect the health care community and how dQMs may require changes to the quality measure development and endorsement process. PQM is convened by Battelle to provide recommendations on quality measures to CMS, and therefore this feedback will help inform CMS’s efforts to move its quality reporting and value-based payment programs to dQMs. Comments are due by 11:59pm ET on December 15, 2025, and NAACOS plans to provide comments. For additional information on NAACOS’ positions on the transition to digital quality approaches, see responses to the digital quality RFI included in our PFS comments.
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REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR 2026 VIRTUAL BOOT CAMP 201
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Register here, the Data and Analytics Boot Camp 201 will be held January 21-23, and the Clinical and Operations Boot Camp 201 will be held January 28-30. These sessions will be presented at an intermediate-to-advanced level and will provide an understanding of Medicare accountable care and population health to maintain administration and operational functions of a successful ACO. Topics include fraud, waste and abuse, cost and utilization trends, specialty engagement with clinical quality measure reporting, clinical guidelines, and much more. If you are interested in teaching others how your organization or team uses best practices and innovation to achieve success in your ACO contracts, email [email protected].
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REGISTER EARLY AND SAVE ON SPRING 2026 CONFERENCE
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Registration is open for the Spring 2026 Conference at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor on April 22-24. The agenda will highlight insights from leading health care experts and CMS insiders, offering participants an in-depth look at the latest strategies driving health care transformation. In addition to dynamic presentations and panel discussions, the event provides valuable networking opportunities for participants, speakers, and vendors to connect, collaborate, and share best practices. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the national conversation shaping the future of value-based care. Registration is open for both in person and virtual participation. Register early and save!
The sponsor and exhibit program is now accepting applications for the spring conference! Reserve your space today! Please note, all sponsorships and exhibit space are on a first come first served basis, and space is assigned in the order we receive applications.
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REGISTER FOR TODAY’S WEBINAR: BEYOND HCC ALERTS
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In today’s health care environment, coding accuracy and clinical integrity are more critical than ever for ensuring compliance, supporting providers, and strengthening financial stewardship. CHRISTUS Health, a leading health system serving diverse patient populations, set out to overcome challenges with hierarchical condition code risk adjustment, clinical documentation integration (CDI) and provider adoption—all while maintaining a commitment to quality and compliance.
Join leaders from CHRISTUS Health and sponsor Premier to hear how the organization implemented technology that reduces alert fatigue, fits seamlessly into CDI workflows and achieves high provider adoption. They’ll share how these solutions supported real-time documentation accuracy and drove more complete HCC capture—ultimately creating an end-to-end workflow that improved compliance, financial performance and provider satisfaction. This event will be held today from 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET and is free to attend. Register here.
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NEW RECORDED WEBINAR ON MSSP QUALITY REPORTING
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NAACOS recently released a new recorded webinar in the ACO Fundamentals series reviewing the basics of quality reporting in MSSP. The video walks through each of the three current reporting options (Medicare CQMs, MIPS CQMs, eCQMs), how CMS calculates the measure-level scores and the overall quality performance score, and the various pathways to meeting the quality performance standard required to retain maximum shared savings. Check out the recording and slides today!
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WEBINAR SERIES SHOWCASES MEDICAID INSIGHTS FROM MEMBERS
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New recorded webinars feature strategic insights from NAACOS members and thought leaders managing Medicaid populations. These webinars delve into real-world experiences and highlight regional nuances in clinical and social care delivery across various states. Essentia Health leaders share their guiding principles for navigating managed Medicaid from a health system’s perspective, drawing insights from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota markets. Additionally, Integrated Health Partners (IHP) showcases its proven model managing Medicaid populations in Southern California’s competitive environment.
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- House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) announced he will not seek reelection in 2026.
- The November Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) meeting was canceled due to the government shutdown. The next scheduled meeting will be on December 4-5.
- A recent Health Affairs Forefront article, “Rapid Learning For Accountable Care Adoption,” highlights barriers to accountable care adoption and offers rapid learning as a strategy to accelerate and improve progress towards accountable care goals.
- Two recent articles from JAMA Health Forum spotlight the far-reaching implications of proposed Medicaid cuts and two conceptualizations of integrated clinical-social care. Together, these articles underscore the urgent need for policy clarity and investment in systems that bridge clinical care and social support for a unified vision that strengthens both clinical care and social infrastructure.
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