CMS to expand ACCESS Model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) announced on September 15, 2026, that it will expand the Advancing Chronic Care Model with Effective, Scalable Solutions (ACCESS) Model starting April 1, 2027 to include tracks covering additional health conditions.

The ACCESS Model is a voluntary 10-year outcome-based national payment model designed to expand access to technology-supported care for people with chronic conditions and provide flexibility for care teams to use technology, clinical tools and care approaches to address patient needs. Each ACCESS participant will be responsible for managing all beneficiary qualifying conditions in the track and supporting integrated, patient-centered care. Participants will receive Outcome-Aligned Payments (OAPs) based on achieving measurable health outcomes. For information on the ACCESS Model click here and here.

This test program currently has four clinical tracks covering early cardio-kidney-metabolic (eCKM), cardio-kidney-metabolic (CKM), musculoskeletal (MSK) and behavioral health (BH) conditions. New ACCESS Model tracks are scheduled to cover the following conditions starting next spring:

• heart failure
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• substance use disorders
• tobacco cessation
• ongoing support for chronic musculoskeletal pain for certain conditions beyond the initial 12 month period.

Participating organizations are allowed to participate in a single track or multiple tracks. CMS will allow current participants and applicants to participate in the new tracks without reapplying.

CMS plans to accept applications on a rolling basis from 2026 through 2033 to allow different starting times for ACCESS Model participation. The ACCESS Model Request for Applications is available here. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The next participation date will be January 1, 2027, with an application deadline of October 31, 2026.

The ACCESS Model and similar programs offer potential opportunities to complement traditional patient care and improve health outcomes by utilizing remote patient monitoring and technology-based tools such as AI and connected wearables and medical devices to manage chronic conditions under outcome-based payment structures. The expanded ACCESS Model may have some appeal as an alternative (or supplement) to billing under remote physiologic monitoring (RPM), remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) and related billing codes, particularly if restrictions on RPM and RTM are implemented as proposed - see here and here.