CMS Brings Together Federal Leaders, Clinicians, and Digital Health Industry to Advance ACCESS Model

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has brought together the leaders of the federal government, clinician societies, patient advocacy groups, and the digital health industry to create impetus around the CMS Innovation Center ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model.

The meeting was chaired by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and included the other federal authorities, including the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Conversations with the aim of increasing technology-enabled care adoption and also making payment systems consistent with better patient outcomes were discussed.

One of the principal elements of CMS’s strategy is the ACCESS Model, which aims at modernizing the digital health ecosystem of the country and empowering Medicare beneficiaries with broad access to innovative health technologies. Though technology to transform chronic care has already been available, CMS pointed out that the payment mechanism has been lacking to support the process. The ACCESS Model is created to overcome this gap by rewarding results but not activities.

The model is set to commence in July 2026 and will provide Original Medicare providers and patients with high-value and technology-supported care options in ways that would prevent and manage chronic conditions. These are high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic musculoskeletal pain, and depression- conditions that afflict almost two-thirds of Medicare recipients. The model is structured to integrate with the broader healthcare system, allowing primary care and other clinicians to refer patients to ACCESS participants as an extension of their care teams.

CMS also highlighted strong interest from the health technology sector, noting that more than 350 technology-enabled care organizations have already submitted their intent to apply to participate in the model.

In addition, the FDA presented its newly announced Technology-Enabled Meaningful Patient Outcomes (TEMPO) pilot. Under this initiative, manufacturers of certain digital health devices will collaborate with ACCESS participants to provide devices for covered care while collecting and reporting real-world performance data. The pilot is intended to help both CMS and the FDA better understand how digital health technologies perform in real-world settings and how they can support improved outcomes for people living with chronic diseases.

A wide range of clinical societies, patient organizations, and payer groups expressed support for CMS’s efforts, including:

• 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

CMS stated that organizations interested in expressing support or applying to participate in the ACCESS Model can visit the model’s official website and complete the interest form.