Those of you who enjoy a regular helping of Regs & Eggs will know that a couple years ago, ACEP created the Acute Unscheduled Care Model (AUCM), a Medicare alternative payment model (APM) specifically designed for emergency physicians. Currently, individual emergency physicians and emergency medicine groups do not have an opportunity to directly participate in “Advanced APMs.” Under Medicare, participation in an Advanced APM could result in a 5 percent payment bonus through 2024 and a higher payment fee schedule update starting in 2026. While the AUCM has been endorsed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we’re still waiting on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to adopt the framework.
In the meantime, however, we’ve started a strategic initiative aimed at encouraging adoption of the model by other payors, including Medicaid and commercial payors. More state Medicaid agencies and private payors are moving away from fee-for-service contracts with physicians and other health care practitioners towards value-based payment arrangements, and the AUCM is an ideal APM construct for these payors to pursue for emergency medicine.
Through the APM Strategic Initiative, ACEP is partnering with experts to provide information and resources to emergency medicine groups, state Medicaid agencies, private payors, and other stakeholders about how to structure and participate in emergency-medicine focused APMs that use the AUCM as a framework.
We are happy to announce that we recently updated our webpage, www.acep.org/apm, with additional resources such as a fact sheet and background materials to provide a more detailed overview of the AUCM and its potential for improving emergency care and reducing costs.
In addition, we are also in the process of developing targeted toolkits that you can use to engage in discussions with state Medicaid agencies and private payors on emergency-medicine focused APMs.
Stay tuned for this next phase of the initiative and how you can help spread the word about AUCM.
Until next week, this is Jeffrey saying, enjoy reading… or listening to… regs with your eggs!
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