December 29, 2021 – The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) has endorsed the ACO Assignment Improvement Act of 2021, H.R. 6308. The bill is sponsored by Reps. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI). Specifically, it removes the statutory requirement that patients have at least one primary care visit with a physician during the year in order to be assigned to an ACO.
“This bill recognizes the important work of ACO non-physician providers providing high quality coordinated care to patients and will enhance their role in ACOs, which is why NAACOS supports this bill,” said Clif Gaus, president and CEO of NAACOS. “However, NAACOS is concerned that CMS’ inability to differentiate between nurse practitioners and physician assistants practicing primary care compared to those practicing specialty care. We continue to advocate that ACOs be permitted to remove specialty-focused non-physician providers from assignment.”