by Roy Edroso
Experts are getting a closer look at the ACO REACH model CMS suddenly unveiled in February, and it’s looking good for ACOs who don’t have unlimited financial resources, as well as for the advancement of CMS’ health equity cause. After months of controversy over the CMS Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) model from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), CMS announced Feb. 24 that, starting in 2023, the program would be transformed into the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (REACH) model, or ACO REACH. Its participants would be called ACOs instead of Direct Contracting Entities (DCE) (PBN 2/28/22, 3/7/22).