Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to State Medicaid Directors that provides guidance for states on how design to advance value-based care (VBC) across state healthcare systems, with an emphasis on Medicaid populations. The guidance includes an assessment of key lessons learned from early state and federal experiences in implementing VBC. It also provides a comprehensive toolkit of available federal authorities for states to adopt for innovative payment reform efforts within their individual programs. CMS is not requiring states to establish or adhere to any specific approaches or payment methodologies, but provides a roadmap to assist states in moving towards VBC.
Additionally, last week, CMS announced they would not be moving forward with the controversial Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule that was slated to be finalized this month. This rule was highly criticized by stakeholders and was withdrawn by CMS, who stated they believe the issue requires further study.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Alicia Blakey at ablakey@acr.org and/or Christina Berry at cberry@acr.org.