For performance year 2020, all ACOs are considered to be affected by the Public Health Emergency (PHE) for the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Shared Savings Program extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy applies. In addition, for performance year 2020 only, we are proposing to waive the requirement for ACOs to field a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) for ACOs survey. Consequently, ACOs would receive automatic full credit for the patient experience of care measures.

The rule can also be viewed on the Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/08/17/2020-17127/medicare-program-cy-2021-revisions-to-payment-policies-under-the-physician-fee-schedule-and-other

How Do I Comment?
The proposed rule includes directions for submitting comments. Comments must be received within the 60-day comment period, which closes on October 5, 2020.  When commenting refer to file code: CMS-1734-P

FAX transmissions won’t be accepted. Use one of the following ways to officially submit your comments:

• Electronically through Regulations.gov
• Regular mail
• Express or overnight mail

The proposed rule can also be accessed through the Shared Savings Program – Program Statutes & Regulations page.

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CMS has posted the following FAQ at www.cms.gov/files/document/03092020-covid-19-faqs-508.pdf.
Question: When will the 2020 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) for ACOs final list of survey vendors be available and when do we authorize a vendor to administer the survey on our behalf?
Answer: We continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 PHE on Shared Savings Program quality reporting for the 2020 performance year. At this time, we are not providing the CAHPS for ACOs final vendor list or the vendor authorization tool. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.

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The list of 2020 CAHPS for ACOs Survey Conditionally Approved Survey Vendors is now available. [ Read More ]