AAPM&R Comments on the CMS Innovation Center’s Strategy Refresh

December 21, 2021

On October 20^th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) released a CMS White Paper on CMS Innovation Center’s Strategy: Driving Health System Transformation – A Strategy for the CMS Innovation Center’s Second Decade.

The Innovation Center announced their overarching vision to create a health system that achieves equitable outcomes through high-quality, affordable, person-centered care with a five-part strategic objective for advancing system transformation: to drive accountable care, advance health equity, support innovation, address affordability, and partner to achieve system transformation.

Last week, the Academy submitted a letter to the CMS Innovation Center in support of the Innovation Center’s strategic plan for health care payment models and care delivery over the next decade. We also provided input on additional actions that can progress the transformation towards value-based care:

• Prioritizing health equity for the disabled population through targeted interventions based on data collection and analysis.
• Making data readily available and accessible for model participants.
• Data to include social determinants of health (SDOH) and disability status measurement.
• Having a whole-person approach in all models of care.
• Broader use of patient-reported measures that address function, functional independence, and health-related quality of life.

Dr. Elizabeth Fowler, Deputy Administrator and Director of the CMS Innovation Center, responded directly to thank the Academy for our feedback and input.