PALTC23 Conference Recordings TH16 ACO REACH: The First Performance Year

ACO REACH: The First Performance Year

This presentation will coherently cover the new risk-sharing payment model by CMS. On January 1st, 2023 CMS will launch this new model morphing existing Direct Contracting Entities and ACOs into one structure. ACO REACH presents a unique opportunity for practice groups to take on global risk and participate in up to 100% of the savings, functioning as a health plan. Traditional commercial health plans were not able to participate, putting clinicians in the captain chair for managing Medicare risk. There were 270 new applications with nearly 50% approved, of which 38% were risk-bearing programs for high-needs members. The high-needs population is often the focus of clinical practice providers for PALTC members. The panel presentation will describe the design, overview and requirements to operate this new program. The presentation addresses the vital role of Clinicians in ACO REACH.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this session, learners will be able to:

  • Describe the background of the ACO REACH Model.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the Model Design.
  • List timeline of implementation steps.
  • Describe the impact for PALTC members.

Steven Buslovich, MD, CMD

Steven Buslovich, MD, CMD, is a practicing geriatrician and medical director of several nursing homes and post-acute care facilities, is an active committee member in the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), Advancing Excellence in Long Term Care Collaborative, Society for PALTC Medicine on the Public Policy and Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee, and has won AMDA's Shark Tank Innovation Award. Dr. Buslovich is working with CMS and ONC to standardize clinical data elements across all post-acute care settings. Dr. Buslovich has presented nationally on PDPM to audiences from many organizations and is a nationally recognized expert on frailty models of care. Dr. Buslovich is an Assistant Clinical Professor at University at Buffalo School of Medicine.

Tom Haithcoat

Tom Haithcoat is the President of Ceptor Consulting, LLC, a PAC Physician Practice consulting firm focused on Growth, M&A, and Value Model selection & strategy. Tom has over 25 years of senior living experience in both Nursing Home management and Post Acute Care physician practice management. In addition, Mr. Haithcoat is the Vice President of Network Development and Integration for CareConnectMD. A National PALTC aligned ACO Model.  Mr. Haithcoat is also the co-founder of Geriatric Medical Specialists, LLC. GMS is a Management Services Organization for small Post Acute Care physician practices. Tom sits on the Board of Directors for AMDA-The Society for Post Acute and Long Term Care Medicine and on the Board for the AMDA Foundation. Within AMDA Mr. Haithcoat Chairs the Practice Management Section(PGN) and Co-Chairs the Chief Medical Officer Leadership Meetings.

Matthew Wayne, MD, CMD

Matthew Wayne, MD, CMD, is an experienced chief medical officer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and health care industry. He is currently chief medical officer for CommuniCare Family of Companies and CEO of Personalized Health Partners. He has skills in population health, disease management, Medicare and Medicaid, and physician relations. He is a long-time active AMDA member and served as president in 2012-2103.

  • 2.0 CME
  • 2.0 CMD Management
  • 2.0 MOC

Release Date: 03/29/2023   |   Expiration: 03/01/2026

Credit Statements:

Accreditation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

CME Designation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association designates this enduring material for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CMD Credit Hours: This CME activity has been pre-approved by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM) for up to 2.0 management hours toward certification or recertification as a Certified Medical Director (CMD) in post-acute and long-term care medicine. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit actually spent on the activity.

The CMD Program is administered by the ABPLM. For further information, contact ABPLM at 410-992-3117 or at cmd@paltmed.org.

ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC): Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 2.0 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Financial Disclosure Statement:

The Association requires the disclosure of all speaker/faculty/planner’s relevant financial relationships; presence of off-label use of a device or medication; and discussion of any experimental, new or evolving topic prior to each accredited education activity.

If the learner perceives any bias toward a commercial product or service, advocation of unscientific approaches to diagnosis or therapy, or recommendation, treatment, or manners of practicing healthcare that are determined to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or are known to be ineffective in the treatment of patients please report this to the Association's staff.


The following speaker(s) disclosed relevant financial relationship(s): 

  • Julie Gammack, MD, CMD (Planner & Speaker): Stockholder: Amarin
  • Kenya Rivas Velasquez, MD, CMD, FAAFP (Planner & Speaker): OptumRx: Stockholder
  • All other planners, speakers, and AMDA staff have no relationships with ineligible companies.

All relevant financial relationships have been identified and mitigated.

Components visible upon registration.