Dive Brief:
- HHS released a fact sheet Tuesday detailing progress in its efforts toward delivery system reform, which include finding better ways to pay providers, deliver care, and share information.
- The sheet states 72 health plans and states voluntarily reporting on the same APM goal reached 23% in their 2015 healthcare spending, according to the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (LAN).
- It also reiterates the administration's goal of having 30% of Medicare payments flow through Alternative Payment Models (APMs) by the end of 2016 was met 11 months ahead of schedule.
Dive Insight:
The government has been hard at work pushing for participation in APMs. CMS announced Tuesday new opportunities for participation in advanced APMs, which have some additional requirements and potential downside risk, with potential benefits under MACRA.
HHS added it has taken several steps in the last month that relate to improving healthcare quality and affordability under both government and private payers.
These include the launch of MACRA, a collaboration with several states on new system reform waivers, updates by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information (ONC) to the Health IT Certification requirements, as well as the release of a web-based "Health IT Playbook" and an electronic health record contract guide to help clinicians navigate contract terms.
The fact sheet also provides details on private payer initiatives, including the LAN's tracking of payments across commercial, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid lines of business in the first major U.S. study of public and private spending through APMs, and on the new state waivers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont.