Readout: CMS Convenes Leaders Across Government, Clinician Societies, Digital Health Industry to Discuss Innovation Center ACCESS Model
Yesterday, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz joined other leaders from across government—including from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)—and healthcare to build momentum for the bold, new CMS Innovation Center ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model.
The ACCESS Model supports CMS’ work on modernizing the nation’s digital health ecosystem and empowering Medicare beneficiaries through greater access to innovative health technologies. The Health Tech Ecosystem momentum is strong, and it is proving that the technology to transform care is available today. However, a payment mechanism that supports technology enabled care and the outcomes they achieve is needed. The ACCESS Model fills in that gap.
The ACCESS Model will give Original Medicare providers and patients access to high-value, technology-supported care options to better prevent and manage chronic disease. The model—which will begin in July 2026—introduces an outcome-aligned payment option that rewards results rather than required activities, enabling new ways of delivering effective technology-supported care for conditions affecting two out of three people with Medicare, including high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic musculoskeletal pain, and depression. It is designed to integrate with the broader health care system, enabling health care professionals, such as those in primary care, to refer people with Medicare to ACCESS participants as an extension of their care team.
During the meeting, CMS and stakeholders discussed how the agency, clinicians, patient advocates, and digital health companies can work together to expand patient and clinician access to modern, technology-supported care for chronic conditions at national scale. More than 350 technology-enabled care organizations have submitted their intent to apply to participate in the ACCESS Model.
In addition, the FDA discussed the recently announced Technology-Enabled Meaningful Patient Outcomes (TEMPO) pilot. In collaboration with the ACCESS Model, under the TEMPO pilot, participating manufacturers of certain digital health devices will offer devices for an intended use to provide care covered by the ACCESS Model while collecting, monitoring, and reporting real-world performance data. This pilot will help the FDA and CMS better understand how digital health technologies perform in real-life settings and how they may support efforts to improve care for people living with chronic diseases. The pilot supports CMS’s ACCESS Model, which aims to increase beneficiary access to technology-enabled, integrated care.
Organizations that have expressed support for CMS’ efforts to support clinicians in delivering and expanding patient access to effective technology-supported care for chronic conditions include:
Clinical and Patient Societies
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American College of Cardiology
- American College of Physicians
- American Medical Association
- American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
- American Physical Therapy Association
- American Psychiatric Association
- American Society of Nephrology
- America’s Physician Groups
- Accountable for Health
- Digital Medicine Society
- Mental Health America
- National Association of ACOs
- National Kidney Foundation
Payer Consortiums
- AHIP
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Organizations that are interested in expressing support or their interest to apply may visit the model website and complete the interest form.
View a recording of the event.
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