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Thursday, 17 September 2026 |
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| The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held an event this week to mark the launch, earlier this summer, of the ACCESS model — the 10-year pilot program that tests paying for technology-supported care through apps, devices, and AI chatbots for Medicare patients with chronic conditions. |
| The big news Tuesday was that CMS is already planning to expand the program. |
| Right now, it’s focused on seniors with heart, kidney and metabolic conditions, such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, as well as anxiety, depression and musculoskeletal pain. |
| Next year, the program will begin addressing heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, substance use disorders and nicotine dependence, as well as ongoing support for chronic musculoskeletal pain. |
| A few more tidbits from the event: |
- More than 160 organizations signed up to the program, though a directory of participants for patients’ use lists only about 40 so far
- “Thousands” of Medicare patients have enrolled, though officials didn’t get any more specific on how many
- 17 health plans covering 165 million Americans committed to adopting ACCESS-style payments, which reimburse for good outcomes
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| Speaking at the event, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz extolled the potential benefits of AI for people’s health. He also jokingly said he wouldn’t address whether AI will destroy humanity: “That’s obviously not good for our health.” |
| Oz acknowledged that some patients are worried their health data could be leaked or stolen, and said those people should stay on the sidelines for now. |
| But for patients who want it, “AI has the ability to assist physicians to do a better job taking care of you, help nurses manage chronic illnesses better, address some of the problems with navigation and transparency in the system in a way that is very empowering to the American people.” |
| - Shelby |
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General Catalyst's ambitions to change how hospitals operate are taking clearer shape
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About a year after the venture investor General Catalyst went through with its unusual plans to buy a hospital group, it's finally talking more about how it will use the experiment.
The hospital system, Akron, OH-based Summa Health, now has partnerships with eight General Catalyst-backed companies to use their products.
And in an interview with Endpoints News, Reva Nohria, a partner on the General Catalyst Health Assurance team, explained the ambition behind those partnerships, as well as how the use of AI in healthcare is transforming the hospital’s work. |
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Oscar’s all about the consumer |
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At its investor day Wednesday, Oscar Health outlined its objectives for the next three years. The health insurer’s strategy hasn’t changed much: It still aims to win business in the Affordable Care Act marketplace and grow the individual insurance market overall. In the slide from Oscar's investor presentation above, Oscar projected that by 2029, 2.5 million people will get coverage through CHOICE plans (formerly ICHRA), in which employers ditch traditional group plans and give workers money to buy insurance on their own. That’s up from 500,000 today.
“We think there is a tipping point here somewhere. We don't know where it is. But when it happens, we're ready,” Oscar CEO Mark Bertolini said. |
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Worldwide made. Thanks for reading.
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