CMS to launch new direct-contracting pay models in 2020

HHS on Monday launched an ambitious, double-pronged strategy to shift primary care from fee-for-service payments to a global fee model where clinicians and hospitals could assume varying amounts of risk.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar told a crowd of stakeholders at the American Medical Association in Washington that the CMS projects the new voluntary programs will shift at least a quarter of people in traditional Medicare out of fee-for-service.

The first model aims at small primary-care practices, offering two options with a flat monthly fee per patient. Bonuses or penalties will depend on their ability to keep their patients “healthy and at home,” said...