ACO Assignment Improvement Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The ACO Assignment Improvement Act amends Social Security Act section 1899(c)(1), which governs assignment of Medicare beneficiaries under the Medicare Shared Savings Program. For performance years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, the bill adds primary care services furnished under Medicare by ACO professionals described in section 1899(h)(1)(B) to the assignment rules. The bill text is narrow, but the operational effect is important for accountable care organizations: additional primary care services from listed ACO professionals can count when CMS determines which beneficiaries are assigned to an ACO. That can change beneficiary attribution, shared savings calculations, and the practical ability of ACOs using non-physician or other covered professionals to have their primary care relationships reflected in MSSP assignment.
Who Benefits and How
Accountable care organizations benefit because more primary care services can count toward beneficiary assignment beginning in 2027. ACO professionals described in section 1899(h)(1)(B) benefit because their primary care work is recognized in assignment. Medicare beneficiaries receiving primary care from those professionals benefit if ACO attribution better reflects actual care relationships. Primary care practices participating in ACOs benefit from more accurate assignment for shared-savings purposes.
Who Bears the Burden and How
CMS administrators must update beneficiary assignment methods for performance years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs must adjust attribution forecasting and reporting to include the new service category. Competing ACOs may see beneficiary assignment shift when additional primary care services are counted. Medicare trust funds bear any shared-savings effects from changed assignment patterns.
Key Provisions
- Amends Medicare Shared Savings Program beneficiary assignment rules.
- Adds primary care services furnished by ACO professionals described in section 1899(h)(1)(B).
- Applies the change for performance years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
- Improves ACO assignment when beneficiaries receive primary care from covered ACO professionals.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Improves Medicare Shared Savings Program beneficiary assignment by counting primary care services furnished by ACO professionals described in section 1899(h)(1)(B) for performance years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
Key Policy Areas
Medicare, Accountable Care, Primary Care
Primary Purpose
Improves Medicare Shared Savings Program beneficiary assignment by counting primary care services furnished by ACO professionals described in section 1899(h)(1)(B) for performance years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Accountable care organizations
- ACO professionals
- Medicare beneficiaries
- Primary care practices
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- CMS administrators
- Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs
- Competing ACOs
- Medicare trust funds
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Smith of Nebraska (for himself and Ms. DelBene) introduced …
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in …
Introduced in House
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology