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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will select up to eight states to participate in a new voluntary  that aims to curb health care cost growth, improve population health, and advance health equity by reducing disparities in health outcomes. CMS plans to detail requirements for the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model in a funding opportunity notice this fall. Participating states will receive up to $12 million each to implement the model during one of three start dates, with the model concluding in December 2034. CMS expects to begin the pre-implementation period for the first cohort next summer. The model will build on best practices from the Maryland Total Cost of Care model, the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, and the Vermont All-Payer ACO Model.

“In our current health care system, fragmented care contributes to persistent, widening health disparities in underserved populations,”  CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “The AHEAD Model is a critical step towards addressing disparities in both health care and health equity while improving overall population health.”