The Case For Greater Focus On Innovation In Medicare Advantage

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (the Innovation Center) was chartered by section 3021 of the Affordable Care Act. Its purpose was to streamline the implementation of new payment and delivery models by giving the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) Innovation Center, a renewing $10B Congressional budget allocation every 10 years to test new models and the authority to scale successful pilots. When the Innovation Center was created in 2010, it was expected to usher in an accelerated era of payment delivery reform in the United States. Since that time, the Innovation Center’s record could be described as mixed at-best. The Center could scale any model that is actuarially certified as improving quality and reducing costs, but only a handful of models have been certified. Importantly, the portfolio has been narrowed in scope, focusing initially on models that would improve coordination of care in the Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare program.