CMS Lays Out ACO Application Timeline For 2020 Start
CMS will start accepting on June 11 perspective notices from accountable care organizations that intend to join the revamped program in 2020, and the application window runs from July 1 through noon on July 29. The agency expects ACO agreements with CMS to be signed in December.

ACOs Say Quality Measure Change Wasn't Communicated, Affects Scores
The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) recently sent a letter to CMS asking the agency to make a tobacco-use quality measure, which was changed by agency, into a pay-for-reporting measure rather than a pay-for-performance one since NAACOS said CMS didn't adequately communicate changes and ACO performance scores have suffered.

ACOs, Hospitals, Docs Ask For More Time To Join Revamped MSSP
Accountable care organizations, hospitals, doctors and others are asking CMS to push back the Feb. 19 deadline for applications to participate in the revamped Medicare Shared Savings program, with 12 stakeholder groups asking CMS to move the deadline to March 29 and AMGA urging CMS to push it back further to April 19. However, CMS told Inside Health Policy that those ACOs not ready for a July start date can wait until the next application cycle that has a January 2020 start.

AACOS: Fewer Physician, FQHC ACOs Likely To Be High Revenue
An analysis from the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations says CMS' changes to the threshold for differentiating high-revenue and low-revenue ACOs is estimated to keep more physician-affiliated ACOs and those affiliated with Federally Qualified Health Centers from having to take on risk at a faster rate under the new Medicare Shared Savings program rules, but NAACOS says concerns remain that the system could keep ACOs from integrating specialty care.

Internal CMS Transmittal Lays Out Radiation Therapy Bundle Plan
CMS in an internal transmittal to contractors dated Feb. 15 lays out a proposal for a prospective bundled payment radiation oncology model that would replace fee-for-service payments in randomly selected geographic areas, a move that comes after HHS Secretary Alex Azar indicated the agency was eying a mandatory radiation therapy demonstration.