CMS has announced 150 digital health companies and healthcare providers to participate in the launch of its tech-enabled chronic care model.
The list of companies provisionally approved to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program is dominated by integrated tech platforms and includes mental health apps, wearable device makers, and startups that help large health systems manage heart failure patients.
Announced late last year by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model offers an outcome-aligned payment for participants to set rates to treat chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, musculoskeletal pain, anxiety, and depression.
The ACCESS model is meant as an alternative to paying for individual technology services. CMS aims for the ACCESS Model to help pay for telehealth software, wearables and wellness apps that address the conditions.
The CMMI plans to cover the cost of technology for Medicare providers if a patient with a qualifying chronic condition achieves clinically significant outcomes, such as lowering their blood pressure.
"ACCESS could shift chronic care from fee-for-service care into a more outcome-driven, tech-assisted, preventive care model," said Ascent Strategu Group Founder & CEO John Digles. "The companies on this provisional list are gaining strategic positioning by seeking and being chosen to help shape this outcome-linked reimbursement model."
The ACCESS Model kicks off July 5th and runs through June 30, 2036.
