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(ACO) regulations - American Society of Anesthesiologists

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CMS-1345-P 71<br />

program while still focusing on the aims <strong>of</strong> better care for individuals, better health for<br />

populations, and lower growth in expenditures. Additionally, it is the intention <strong>of</strong> this<br />

requirement for <strong>ACO</strong>s to include this description in the application, to both guard against<br />

improper financial incentives as well as ensure appropriate beneficiary protections.<br />

7. Sufficient Number <strong>of</strong> Primary Care Providers and Beneficiaries<br />

Section 1899(b)(2)(D) <strong>of</strong> the Act requires participating <strong>ACO</strong>s to "include primary<br />

care <strong>ACO</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essionals that are sufficient for the number <strong>of</strong> Medicare fee-for-service<br />

beneficiaries assigned to the <strong>ACO</strong> …" and that at a minimum, "the <strong>ACO</strong> shall have at<br />

least 5,000 such beneficiaries assigned to it …." Physician patient panels can vary<br />

widely in the number <strong>of</strong> FFS Medicare beneficiaries served. In section II. C. <strong>of</strong> this<br />

proposed rule, we discuss our proposal to assign beneficiaries to an <strong>ACO</strong> on the basis <strong>of</strong><br />

primary care services rendered by physicians with primary care specializations in general<br />

practice, internal medicine, family practice, and geriatric medicine. We are proposing<br />

that this algorithm will also be used to assign beneficiaries during the baseline years in<br />

order to establish a historical per capita cost benchmark against which the <strong>ACO</strong> would be<br />

evaluated during each year <strong>of</strong> the agreement period. We believe it is reasonable to<br />

assume that if by using this algorithm the <strong>ACO</strong> demonstrates a sufficient number <strong>of</strong><br />

beneficiaries to fulfill this eligibility requirement for purposes <strong>of</strong> establishing a<br />

benchmark, then the <strong>ACO</strong> also contains a sufficient number <strong>of</strong> primary care pr<strong>of</strong>essionals<br />

to provide care to these beneficiaries. It is also reasonable to assume the <strong>ACO</strong> would<br />

continue to approximate this number in each year <strong>of</strong> the agreement period. Thus, we are<br />

proposing that for purposes <strong>of</strong> eligibility under section 1899(b)(2)(D) <strong>of</strong> the Act, an <strong>ACO</strong><br />

would be determined to have a sufficient number <strong>of</strong> primary care <strong>ACO</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essionals to

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