What’s new: The ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model tests an outcome-aligned payment approach designed to give people with Original Medicare new options to improve their health and prevent and manage chronic disease with technology-supported care. The voluntary model focuses on common conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic musculosketal pain, depression, and other conditions affecting millions of Americans.
Why it matters: Today, people with Original Medicare have limited access to modern, technology-supported care for managing their chronic conditions.
What to expect: CMS will begin accepting applications for the 10-year voluntary model on January 12, 2026, with an initial deadline of April 1, 2026. ACCESS will begin July 1, 2026. The Request for Applications will be available soon; the ACCESS Model Interest Form can be completed to be notified when the application becomes available.
The big picture: ACCESS supports disease prevention and clinical innovation by empowering people who have Medicare with more choices.
Additional details: Through ACCESS, CMS will implement outcome-aligned payments for clinicians offering technology-supported care, giving people with Original Medicare additional options for managing their health as an extension of their care team. CMS will pay participants a fixed amount in installments to manage a patient’s condition, with participants only receiving the full amount if required clinical outcomes are met. By emphasizing outcomes rather than activities, ACCESS gives clinicians greater flexibility to deliver modern technology-supported care that improves patient health.
ACCESS will focus on four clinical tracks addressing many of the most common chronic conditions:
- Early cardiometabolic conditions: hypertension (high blood pressure), dyslipidemia (abnormal or elevated lipids including cholesterol), obesity or overweight with marker of central obesity, and prediabetes
- Cardio-kidney-metabolic conditions: diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, including heart disease
- Musculoskeletal conditions: chronic musculoskeletal pain
- Behavioral health conditions: depression and anxiety
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