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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced changes to its accountable care organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) Model starting in performance year 2024.
Notably, in response to CHA and other stakeholder concerns about the use of the national-based area deprivation index (ADI) to identify underserved populations, CMS is revising the composite measure used for the Health Equity Benchmark Adjustment by incorporating two new variables: low-income subsidy status and state-based ADI. CMS expects the changes to improve the model test by increasing predictability for model participants, protecting against inappropriate risk score growth and maintaining consistency across CMS programs and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation models, and further advancing health equity.
