CMS Innovation Center official previews nine new payment models, highlights access and integration initiatives

Amy Turner, deputy director for policy at the CMS Innovation Center, told the Physician‑Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee on the meeting’s opening day that the Innovation Center launched nine new payment models in 2025 and expects a tenth to roll out soon.

Turner said four of the new models are drug‑focused — named Balance, Globe, Guard and Generous — aimed at reducing drug spending across Medicare and Medicaid. She described the Access model as “outcome aligned” and technology‑enabled for original Medicare, in which payments are tied to measured outcomes rather than simply billed services.

“We ended up launching nine new models in 2025,” Turner said. “The hope was to launch 10. The tenth model will hopefully be rolling out in the next month or two.” She added that the Access model has attracted a range of payers, representing roughly 165,000,000 Americans across Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and private insurance, who have signed on to adopt outcome‑based payment structures aligned with Access.

Turner outlined two other initiatives: MAHA Elevate, announced Dec. 11, which she described as a grant program to encourage external innovation, and LEAD — framed as a follow‑on to the ACO REACH model — intended to strengthen Medicare–Medicaid integration through state partnerships. She said rulemaking notices have been issued for several models, including Globe and Guard and the kidney care model, with final rules expected in 2026.

Turner emphasized continued iteration with stakeholders and said the Innovation Center would rely on external feedback as it tests access and other models. “We look forward to continuing to iterate with a wide variety of external stakeholders, to test Access and see how we can make it work in a way that really drives both cost savings and improvements in the quality of care,” she said.

The Innovation Center official also reiterated the agency’s statutory mandate to pursue models that either improve quality while holding costs constant or reduce costs while holding quality constant, a standard she said guided decisions to terminate or wind down models that were not meeting objectives.

Turner concluded by encouraging engagement with the Innovation Center’s teams during the two‑day PTAC meeting and said the center plans continued announcements and rule finalizations in 2026.

The committee recessed for a brief break and will continue deliberations and expert panels focused on operationalizing multi‑payer alignment across Medicare programs and state models.