Value In Health Care Act of 2021 

NAACOS is pleased to strongly support the Value In Health Care Act of 2021. This bipartisan legislation would both incentivize ACO participation and create more equitable policies for existing ACOs. The bill was introduced in July by Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio). NAACOS led a letter of support and press release that was signed by 14 leading health organizations, including NAACOS, associations representing physicians, hospitals, and group practices.

A more detailed section-by-section summary is online, but the bill:

• Increases shared savings rate for certain MSSP ACOs,
• Allows risk scores to increase up to 5 percent over a five-year agreement period,
• Eliminates the high-low revenue distinction and applies low-revenue policies across MSSP,
• Removes ACO beneficiaries from the regional reference population under MSSP’s regional benchmarking,
• Provides advanced funding to ACOs, similar to the ACO Investment Mode,
• Extends the Advanced APM bonus for six additional years,
• Give the HHS secretary greater discretion to determine QP thresholds, limiting annual increases to no greater than 5 percent,
• Address alternative payment model overlap in various ways, and
• Require a Government Accountability Office report on value-based care programs’ impact on racial health disparities.

 NAACOS hosted a virtual briefing, which is viewable on our website, on the state of value-based care and changes in federal policy needed to advance it. Co-sponsors of the Value in Health Care Act spoke and were joined leading ACOs, who offered their stories and examples of successes and challenges. 

NAACOS will continue to advocate on this bill and will inform members of key steps as the bill progresses through the legislative process. But we urge members to visit our “Take Action” page to write your members of Congress, asking that they support the Value in Health Care Act.