42 U.S.C. § 1395jjj
Not later than January 1, 2012, the Secretary shall establish a shared savings program (in this section referred to as the "program") that promotes accountability for a patient population and coordinates items and services under parts A and B, and encourages investment in infrastructure and redesigned care processes for high quality and efficient service delivery. Under such program-
Subject to the succeeding provisions of this subsection, as determined appropriate by the Secretary, the following groups of providers of services and suppliers which have established a mechanism for shared governance are eligible to participate as ACOs under the program under this section:
An ACO shall meet the following requirements:
The Secretary shall determine appropriate measures to assess the quality of care furnished by the ACO, such as measures of-
An ACO shall submit data in a form and manner specified by the Secretary on measures the Secretary determines necessary for the ACO to report in order to evaluate the quality of care furnished by the ACO. Such data may include care transitions across health care settings, including hospital discharge planning and post-hospital discharge follow-up by ACO professionals, as the Secretary determines appropriate.
The Secretary shall establish quality performance standards to assess the quality of care furnished by ACOs. The Secretary shall seek to improve the quality of care furnished by ACOs over time by specifying higher standards, new measures, or both for purposes of assessing such quality of care.
The Secretary may, as the Secretary determines appropriate, incorporate reporting requirements and incentive payments related to the physician quality reporting initiative (PQRI) under section 1395w-4 of this title, including such requirements and such payments related to electronic prescribing, electronic health records, and other similar initiatives under section 1395w-4 of this title, and may use alternative criteria than would otherwise apply under such section for determining whether to make such payments. The incentive payments described in the preceding sentence shall not be taken into consideration when calculating any payments otherwise made under subsection (d).
A provider of services or supplier that participates in any of the following shall not be eligible to participate in an ACO under this section:
Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall determine an appropriate method to assign Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to an ACO based on their utilization of-
For each agreement period (effective for agreements entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2020), in the case where an ACO established under the program is in a Track that provides for the retrospective assignment of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to the ACO, the Secretary shall permit the ACO to choose to have Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries assigned prospectively, rather than retrospectively, to the ACO for an agreement period.
For performance year 2018 and each subsequent performance year, if a system is available for electronic designation, the Secretary shall permit a Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary to voluntarily identify an ACO professional as the primary care provider of the beneficiary for purposes of assigning such beneficiary to an ACO, as determined by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall establish a process under which a Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary is-
A voluntary identification by a Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary under this subparagraph shall supersede any claims-based assignment otherwise determined by the Secretary.
Under the program, subject to paragraph (3), payments shall continue to be made to providers of services and suppliers participating in an ACO under the original Medicare fee-for-service program under parts A and B in the same manner as they would otherwise be made except that a participating ACO is eligible to receive payment for shared savings under paragraph (2) if-
In each year of the agreement period, an ACO shall be eligible to receive payment for shared savings under paragraph (2) only if the estimated average per capita Medicare expenditures under the ACO for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries for parts A and B services, adjusted for beneficiary characteristics, is at least the percent specified by the Secretary below the applicable benchmark under clause (ii). The Secretary shall determine the appropriate percent described in the preceding sentence to account for normal variation in expenditures under this subchapter, based upon the number of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries assigned to an ACO.
The Secretary shall estimate a benchmark for each agreement period for each ACO using the most recent available 3 years of per-beneficiary expenditures for parts A and B services for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries assigned to the ACO. Such benchmark shall be adjusted for beneficiary characteristics and such other factors as the Secretary determines appropriate and updated by the projected absolute amount of growth in national per capita expenditures for parts A and B services under the original Medicare fee-for-service program, as estimated by the Secretary. Such benchmark shall be reset at the start of each agreement period.
Subject to performance with respect to the quality performance standards established by the Secretary under subsection (b)(3), if an ACO meets the requirements under paragraph (1), a percent (as determined appropriate by the Secretary) of the difference between such estimated average per capita Medicare expenditures in a year, adjusted for beneficiary characteristics, under the ACO and such benchmark for the ACO may be paid to the ACO as shared savings and the remainder of such difference shall be retained by the program under this subchapter. The Secretary shall establish limits on the total amount of shared savings that may be paid to an ACO under this paragraph.
If the Secretary determines that an ACO has taken steps to avoid patients at risk in order to reduce the likelihood of increasing costs to the ACO the Secretary may impose an appropriate sanction on the ACO, including termination from the program.
The Secretary may terminate an agreement with an ACO if it does not meet the quality performance standards established by the Secretary under subsection (b)(3).
Chapter 35 of title 44 shall not apply to the program, including an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program under subsections (b)(2)(I) and (m).
The Secretary may waive such requirements of sections 1320a-7a and 1320a-7b of this title and this subchapter as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
There shall be no administrative or judicial review under section 1395ff of this title, section 1395oo of this title, or otherwise of-
In this section:
The term "ACO professional" means-
The term "hospital" means a subsection (d) hospital (as defined in section 1395ww(d)(1)(B) of this title).
The term "Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary" means an individual who is enrolled in the original Medicare fee-for-service program under parts A and B and is not enrolled in an MA plan under part C, an eligible organization under section 1395mm of this title, or a PACE program under section 1395eee of this title.
If the Secretary determines appropriate, the Secretary may use any of the payment models described in paragraph (2) or (3) for making payments under the program rather than the payment model described in subsection (d).
Subject to subparagraph (B), a model described in this paragraph is a partial capitation model in which an ACO is at financial risk for some, but not all, of the items and services covered under parts A and B, such as at risk for some or all physicians' services or all items and services under part B. The Secretary may limit a partial capitation model to ACOs that are highly integrated systems of care and to ACOs capable of bearing risk, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary.
Payments to an ACO for items and services under this subchapter for beneficiaries for a year under the partial capitation model shall be established in a manner that does not result in spending more for such ACO for such beneficiaries than would otherwise be expended for such ACO for such beneficiaries for such year if the model were not implemented, as estimated by the Secretary.
Subject to subparagraph (B), a model described in this paragraph is any payment model that the Secretary determines will improve the quality and efficiency of items and services furnished under this subchapter.
Subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) shall apply to a payment model under subparagraph (A) in a similar manner as such subparagraph (B) applies to the payment model under paragraph (2).
The Secretary may give preference to ACOs who are participating in similar arrangements with other payers.
During the period beginning on March 23, 2010, and ending on the date the program is established, the Secretary may enter into an agreement with an ACO under the demonstration under section 1395cc-1 of this title, subject to rebasing and other modifications deemed appropriate by the Secretary.
In the case of telehealth services for which payment would otherwise be made under this subchapter furnished on or after January 1, 2020, for purposes of this subsection only, the following shall apply with respect to such services furnished by a physician or practitioner participating in an applicable ACO (as defined in paragraph (2)) to a Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary assigned to the applicable ACO:
Subject to paragraph (3), the home of a beneficiary shall be treated as an originating site described in section 1395m(m)(4)(C)(ii) of this title.
The geographic limitation under section 1395m(m)(4)(C)(i) of this title shall not apply with respect to an originating site described in section 1395m(m)(4)(C)(ii) of this title (including the home of a beneficiary under subparagraph (A)), subject to State licensing requirements.
In this subsection:
The term "applicable ACO" means an ACO participating in a model tested or expanded under section 1315a of this title or under this section-
The term "home" means, with respect to a Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary, the place of residence used as the home of the beneficiary.
In the case of telehealth services described in paragraph (1) where the home of a Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary is the originating site, the following shall apply:
There shall be no facility fee paid to the originating site under section 1395m(m)(2)(B) of this title.
No payment may be made for such services that are inappropriate to furnish in the home setting such as services that are typically furnished in inpatient settings such as a hospital.
In order to encourage Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to obtain medically necessary primary care services, an ACO participating under this section under a payment model described in clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (2)(B) may apply to establish an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program to provide incentive payments to such beneficiaries who are furnished qualifying services in accordance with this subsection. The Secretary shall permit such an ACO to establish such a program at the Secretary's discretion and subject to such requirements, including program integrity requirements, as the Secretary determines necessary.
The Secretary shall implement this subsection on a date determined appropriate by the Secretary. Such date shall be no earlier than January 1, 2019, and no later than January 1, 2020.
Subject to subparagraph (H), an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program established under this subsection shall be conducted for such period (of not less than 1 year) as the Secretary may approve.
An ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program established under this subsection shall provide incentive payments to all of the following Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who are furnished qualifying services by the ACO:
For purposes of this subsection, a qualifying service is a primary care service, as defined in section 425.20 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations (or in any successor regulation), with respect to which coinsurance applies under part B, furnished through an ACO by-
An incentive payment made by an ACO pursuant to an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program established under this subsection shall be-
The Secretary shall not make any separate payment to an ACO for the costs, including incentive payments, of carrying out an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program established under this subsection. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed as prohibiting an ACO from using shared savings received under this section to carry out an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program.
Incentive payments made by an ACO under this subsection shall be disregarded for purposes of calculating benchmarks, estimated average per capita Medicare expenditures, and shared savings under this section.
An ACO conducting an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program under this subsection shall, at such times and in such format as the Secretary may require, report to the Secretary such information and retain such documentation as the Secretary may require, including the amount and frequency of incentive payments made and the number of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries receiving such payments.
The Secretary may terminate an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program established under this subsection at any time for reasons determined appropriate by the Secretary.
Any payment made under an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program established under this subsection shall not be considered income or resources or otherwise taken into account for purposes of-
1So in original. No par. (2) has been enacted.
42 U.S.C. § 1395jjj
EDITORIAL NOTES
AMENDMENTS2018-Subsec. (b)(2)(I). Pub. L. 115-123, §50341(a)(1), added subpar. (I).Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115-123, §50331, designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, substituted "Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary" for "The Secretary", redesignated former pars. (1) and (2) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, of par. (1), realigned margins, and added par. (2). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115-123, §50341(a)(3), inserted ",including an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program under subsections (b)(2)(I) and (m)" after "the program". Subsec. (g)(6). Pub. L. 115-123, §50341(a)(4), inserted "or of an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program under subsections (b)(2)(I) and (m)" after "under subsection (d)(4)".Subsec. (l). Pub. L. 115-123, §50324(a), added subsec. (l).Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 115-123, §50341(a)(2), added subsec. (m).2016-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114-255 substituted "utilization of-" for "utilization of primary", inserted par. (1) designation and "in the case of performance years beginning on or after April 1, 2012, primary" before "care services", and added par. (2).2010-Subsecs. (i) to (k). Pub. L. 111-148, §10307, added subsecs. (i) to (k).
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
STUDY AND REPORT Pub. L. 115-123, div. E, title III, §50324(b), Feb. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 204, provided that:"(1) STUDY.-"(A) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subsection referred to as the 'Secretary') shall conduct a study on the implementation of section 1899(l) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395jjj(l)], as added by subsection (a). Such study shall include an analysis of the utilization of, and expenditures for, telehealth services under such section."(B) COLLECTION OF DATA.-The Secretary may collect such data as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the study under this paragraph."(2) REPORT.-Not later than January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1), together with recommendations for such legislation and administrative action as the Secretary determines appropriate."
- Secretary
- The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.1See References in Text note below.
- United States
- The term "United States" means (but only for purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph) the fifty States and the District of Columbia.
- practices
- The term "practices" means design, financing, permitting, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance, and other practices that contribute to achieving zero-net-energy buildings or facilities.
- project
- The terms "federally assisted housing" and "project" mean-(A) a public housing project (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)] );(B) housing for which project-based assistance is provided under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f] ;(C) housing that is assisted under section 1701q of title 12;(D) housing that is assisted under section 1701q of title 12, as such section existed before November 28, 1990;(E) housing financed by a loan or mortgage insured under section 1715l(d)(3) of title 12 that bears interest at a rate determined under the proviso of section 1715l(d)(5) of title 12;(F) housing insured, assisted, or held by the Secretary or a State or State agency under section 1715z-1 of title 12;(G) housing constructed or substantially rehabilitated pursuant to assistance provided under section 8(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(b)(2)], as in effect before October 1, 1983, that is assisted under a contract for assistance under such section; and(H) housing that is assisted under section 80131 of this title.