CMS Announces the “States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model”

On September 5, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new voluntary state total cost of care model – the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (“States Advancing AHEAD” or “AHEAD Model”). Under AHEAD, participating states will be better equipped to promote health equity, increase access to primary care services, set health care expenditures on a more sustainable trajectory, and lower health care costs for patients. The AHEAD Model represents the next iteration of the CMS Innovation Center’s multi-payer total cost of care models. States participating in AHEAD will be accountable for quality and population health outcomes, while reducing all-payer avoidable health care spending to spur...