Premier Urges CMS to Steer Away from Micromanagement Approach to ACOs

Tags: ACO | CMS | EHR | Premier

Premier healthcare alliance has provided comments on CMS' proposed ACO rule, saying the micromanagement approach to regulation "has the potential to stifle innovation and creative new approaches to care delivery," according to a Premier release.

Premier recommends that, rather than dictating what future ACOs look like, CMS should articulate what they should not look like and provide general parameters around the legal boundaries of ACO operations.

Some of Premier's recommended changes to the rule include:

• CMS should include a payment track that relies solely on a shared savings model with no down-side risk for the first three-year contract.
• CMS should offer grants and/or loans to encourage ACOs to form in areas they might not otherwise be able to.
• CMS should remove the physician meaningful use of EHRs requirement and should not implement such a requirement for hospitals.

Read Premier's comments on the proposed ACO rule in full (pdf).

Related Articles on ACOs:
AMA Issues Response to Proposed ACO Antitrust Policy
AHA Issues Response to Proposed ACO Antitrust Policy, Urges IRS to Offer Guidance
MGMA Responds to "Biased" ACO Proposed Rule

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