The new model was announced by CMS Feb. 24 and is now called the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health model, or ACO REACH.
The letter — signed by organizations representing seniors, people with disabilities, consumers and health professionals — calls for an end to the new model and a rejection of the privatization of traditional Medicare.
It also alleges that ACO REACH gives third-party middlemen the power to manage seniors’ care without their full understanding or consent and states that there is a lack of transparency with the program.
“Hundreds of community leaders joined forces to say: You can’t fool us, we know Medicare privatization when we see it,” Susan Rogers, MD, president of Physicians for a National Health Program, said in a news release. “HHS gave Direct Contracting a fresh coat of paint, but we can see right through it.”
