More Medicare beneficiaries will receive care from Medicare Shared Savings Plan Responsible Care providers this year, new data shows, but that number is still lower than in 2020.

Nearly one in five Medicare enrollees will be treated by a Shared Savings Plan ACO provider this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services disclosed, a slight increase from 2021 but less than during the 2020 period. predict Posted Wednesday.According to CMS, these ACOs will reach 11 million people in 2022, compared to 10.7 million in 2021 and 11.2 million in 2020 data.

CMS also announced that as of January 1, 66 new ACOs had joined the program, although that included 20 in the second or third agreement period. Another 40 of these new listings were previously in ACOs or were part of existing Multi-ACOs, according to the National ACO Association.

Another 140 ACOs signed another agreement period this year, bringing the total to 483. Last year, 477 ACOs participated, down from 517 in 2020.

There are also more ACOs taking risk this year, with 59% of ACOs on a bilateral risk track compared to 41% in 2021.

ACOs are made up of doctors, hospitals, and other providers who coordinate the care of Medicare beneficiaries. Provider participation in the ACO is voluntary, and those who join can earn bonuses based on how much money they save for Medicare and quality metrics.

As the largest alternative payment model in Medicare, the Shared Savings Plan is part of a broader CMS strategy to move to a value-based payment arrangement.The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation announced a Target Last year, all Medicare beneficiaries were included in one of the arrangements by 2030.

“CMS’ commitment to value-based care has never been stronger. As we continue to work towards our goal of increasing the number of people in care relationships and being accountable for the quality and total cost of care, we celebrate the increase in ACO engagement, and Knowing we have more work to do,” Meena Seshamani, director of the Center for Medicare, said in a release.

However, the National ACO Association was not satisfied with the modest increase in participating ACOs and covered beneficiaries.Content Management System Not accepting new participants In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the new ACOs that CMS is talking about have actually just moved from The now defunct Next Generation ACO model, organized by industry.

Participation in shared savings plans did not Road to Success Policies introduced in 2018 pushed more ACOs into risk-taking arrangements.

“Today should not be a celebration, but a call to action from policymakers to correct this trend and address incentives to stimulate participation in a voluntary program that repeatedly generates savings and provides high-quality care,” National ACO Association President and CEO Clif Gaus said in a news conference.

The trade group believes that CMS’ goal of involving all Medicare beneficiaries in value-based care arrangements is laudable, but the agency needs to do more to encourage ACO participation.Increase ACO’s shared savings rate, fix Problems with ACO Benchmarks According to the National ACO Association, this makes it difficult to realize savings, gives organizations more time to get into risk, eases the administrative burden, better data and reinventing quality reporting requirements will help.

Additionally, CMMI runs a direct contract model that builds on the Shared Savings Scheme and the Next Generation ACO model.Content Management System pause New applications for 2022, but applicants with deferred start dates and former next-gen applicants will still start this year, according to the National Association of ACOs. CMMI has not announced direct contract participants.

“NAACOS is waiting to see what it’s like to be involved in the new direct contract model, another model of responsible care. Hopefully this will explain part of the lack of growth in shared savings plans,” Goss said.