include physicians in group practice arrangements, a federally qualified health center, and at least one hospital;
enter into, and be responsible for making payments to providers under, appropriate contractual arrangements;
be accountable for the quality, cost, and overall care of the network's participating beneficiaries;
enter into a participation agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); and
meet other specified requirements.
CMS shall establish a process for prospectively assigning Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to a participating provider network. This process must allow beneficiaries to opt out of such assignment.
The bill limits Medicare payment for out-of-network services furnished to a participating beneficiary.
To calculate payments to participating networks, CMS shall: (1) determine a base annual prospective population health budget, (2) adjust such budget to account for the number and characteristics of participating beneficiaries with respect to each network, and (3) annually update the budget to account for population changes and Medicare program growth.
The bill establishes certain limits on total program expenditures for the program's initial three years.
CMS may expand the project's duration and scope under specified circumstances.