In a new evaluation, the CMS Innovation Center said its ACO REACH model improved healthcare quality and reduced gross spending during its first four performance years, delivering on the promise of the value-based care shift from Fee-for-Service Medicare.  

“This latest evaluation of ACO REACH provides strong evidence that accountable care organizations deliver on the Innovation Center’s mission to improve health care affordability and quality; future results for 2025 and 2026 will reflect model updates aimed at increasing the chances of saving money in the model’s final years,” the Center said.

In addition, the Center said while ACO REACH ends this year, lessons-learned will help inform the next generation of ACO models, including the Long-term Enhanced ACO Design (LEAD) Model, which launches in January 2027, will run for or 10 years, and improves benchmarking to appeal to a broader mix of healthcare providers, including those with specialized patient populations and those new to ACOs.

In response to the results of the evaluation, leading ACO stakeholders Provider Partners said the relationship to quality and costs are not an accident.

“ACO REACH shows that better care and lower costs aren't a tradeoff — they go hand in hand. Gross spending decreased and quality improved more in 2024 than in any prior year of the model, even as ACOs served a record 2.5 million people with Original Medicare. That's real proof accountable care delivers value for both patients and taxpayers," said Eric Palm, chief growth officer, Provider Partners.

He added that the REACH model proves that when providers are held accountable for outcomes, its patients in the most vulnerable settings — including nursing homes — benefit the most.

“In 2024, ACOs coordinated care for 2.5 million people with Original Medicare while posting the model's strongest results yet on both quality and cost. That kind of accountable, coordinated care is exactly what we're carrying forward into the LEAD Model in 2027,” Palm said.

The Center said the Trump Administration “is strongly committed to helping Americans live healthier lives and reduce cost barriers to care and ACOs put greater emphasis on increased care coordination and provider accountability to achieve better health outcomes for people with Original Medicare.”  

Comments or questions on this article? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.