Health Law Advisory: The Bundled Payments Initiative — A Non-ACO Approach to Promoting Coordinated Care
9/16/2011
By Thomas S. Crane and Stephanie D. Willis
On August 23, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation released a Request for Applications for the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative. The Initiative is likely a thematic precursor to the National Pilot Program on Payment Bundling, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be required to implement under the Affordable Care Act, and complements CMS’s Medicare Shared Savings Program for accountable care organizations and the Innovation Center’s Pioneer ACO Program. Together, the three programs provide multiple opportunities for health care providers to experiment with alternative payment and integrated care delivery models that may be expanded if they generate positive quality and cost-containment results. Under the Initiative’s payment models, applicants may retain all of the savings they achieve in excess of the discounted rates. Deadlines for submitting applications for the Initiative are approaching.
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