Medicare officials are offering physician organizations another opportunity to apply for the Advance Payment Accountable Care Organization Model program.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) will begin accepting applications on Aug. 1 for a new round of the program, which begins Jan. 1, 2013. Organizations must file a notice of intent to apply by June 29.
The program is targeted to physician-based and rural ACOs that lack the capital to invest in the infrastructure and care coordination changes needed to develop an ACO. Through the program, being run by the innovation center, ACOs will receive both upfront payments and monthly payments to offset their start-up costs. The Advance Payment ACO Model is part of the large Medicare Shared Savings Program. The details on both programs were released last year.
The Advance Payment ACO Model is open to ACOs with no inpatient facilities and less than $50 million in total annual revenue. ACOs can also apply if their only inpatient facilities are a critical access hospital or Medicare low-volume rural hospitals with less than $80 million in total annual revenue.
ACOs that are co-owned with a health plan are not eligible.