MIPS Promoting Interoperability reweighting can reduce burden, but it's not a safety net. It often just shifts risk to other categories like Quality or Cost. Worse, submitting PI data can accidentally cancel your reweighting protection. Don't mistake relief for compliance. Know your status, document your decision, and model where the weight goes. Chirpy Bird helps practices review reweighting assumptions, avoid submission traps, and build a defensible MIPS strategy before reporting season ends.

Most practices assume compliance is handled. Data submitted. Measures selected. Attestations complete. But in 2026, CMS isn't just evaluating what you submitted — they're evaluating whether your process holds up under scrutiny. And that gap is exactly where most organizations are exposed.

Many ACOs quietly lose ground on performance in Q1, long before quality scores or shared savings reports arrive. Attribution drift—when the population you are accountable for no longer matches how care is staffed, managed, and delivered—silently erodes care management efficiency, quality measure performance, and financial predictability. Left unmanaged, it turns January’s “quiet” reporting period into the moment when performance problems are locked in for the rest of the year. This article explains how attribution drift starts, the early warning signs leaders should watch, and how proactive attribution governance can protect both outcomes and teams by treating attribution as a core leadership responsibility, not a static CMS output.

December is your final checkpoint before the 2025 ACO performance year begins. With APP Plus now the mandatory framework, a few targeted checks can ensure your data, measures, and workflows are aligned. Master the streamlined six-measure set, confirm a single collection type across your entire ACO, and validate your 12-month data plan now to enter 2026 with confidence and control.

Gap closure reports are the strategic intelligence that separates high-performing ACOs from the rest. These reports identify patients who have missed critical preventive care, directly impacting HEDIS scores and shared savings. For ACOs, mastering gap closure is not just about improving quality metrics; it's about designing powerful incentive structures that motivate care coordination teams. Learn how to leverage technology, optimize workflows, and implement reward systems that drive performance, enhance patient outcomes, and achieve sustainable financial success in value-based care.

CMS’s 2025 ACO PC Flex Model offers upfront and monthly payments to stabilize primary care funding, while ACO REACH prepares for stricter 2026 benchmarks and risk adjustments. ACOs must navigate financial modeling, care transformation, and compliance—turning regulatory shifts into strategic advantages. Discover actionable steps to optimize revenue, manage risk, and stay ahead.

Starting in 2026, CMS is introducing major updates to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) that will impact ACO participation, risk models, quality reporting, and cybersecurity protections. Key changes include a shorter one-sided risk period (5 years instead of 7), relaxed patient minimums, simplified quality reporting, and new safeguards against cyberattacks. ACOs must prepare now to adapt to these shifts and maximize performance under the new rules.

With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), ACOs must prioritize clinician engagement in Shared Savings Program (SSP) meetings to maximize performance under new Medicare payment structures. This guide outlines 7 actionable strategies—from aligning incentives with 3.8% APM payment bumps to leveraging peer-to-peer learning and streamlined data insights—to boost participation, improve outcomes, and drive shared savings.

The 2026 CMS proposed rule introduces major updates for ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), including mandatory APP reporting, a stronger push toward digital quality measures, and higher performance thresholds. Key changes also include revised benchmarking, beneficiary attribution adjustments, and expanded Promoting Interoperability requirements. ACO leaders should prepare for increased digital reporting demands while taking advantage of new flexibilities—especially for rural and smaller ACOs. Stay informed and ready for compliance ahead of the final rule.

Protect Your MSSP Benchmark: The 90-Day Secret to Accurate Risk Capture

Your MSSP benchmark hinges on one critical rule: chronic conditions must be flagged, documented, and closed every 90 days. Missed diagnoses = an underweighted benchmark, leaving your ACO financially exposed.

Here’s the fix:

1. Flag suspected conditions quarterly (meds, labs, care gaps).

2. Document HCCs during visits—specificity is key.

3. Close the loop: confirm, rule out, or refer.

Skip the cycle? Risk scores regress, costs spike, and audits loom. Compliance isn’t year-end—it’s every 90 days.

Start today:

• Build a suspect condition registry.

• Train providers on HCC validation.

• Audit charts monthly, not annually.

CMS’s seismic shift to HCC V28 is here—and if your ACO isn’t prepared, your RAF scores could plummet, slashing your Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) benchmarks regardless of patient outcomes.

The Urgency:

• 67% of 2025 RAF scores now hinge on V28’s stricter rules—more HCCs, reweighted conditions, and brutal specificity demands.

• Chronic conditions like CKD Stage 3 no longer count unless paired with complications. "Diabetes" alone won’t cut it—documentation must detail complications (e.g., "diabetes with neuropathy").

• Benchmarks = Revenue. Miss the mark, and shared savings vanish—or worse, your ACO triggers shared losses.

Your Survival Kit:

1. Audit Top Codes – Does your #1 diagnosis still map to an HCC?

2. Train Clinicians – V28 demands precision. "Good enough" notes = financial risk.

3. Leverage Annual Wellness Visits – Embed HCC recapture into every AWV.

4. Adopt MEAT Criteria – Every diagnosis must show ongoing Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, Treat.

5. Track Quarterly – Don’t wait for December—run RAF reports now.

 By 2026, V28 is 100% in effect. Delay = years of disadvantage.

Protecting your benchmark isn’t optional—it’s survival.

The 2025 Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) update presents a pivotal moment for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). With CMS emphasizing performance accountability and health equity, ACOs must decide: Does our organization have the agility, financial resilience, and technology to thrive under Pathways to Success—and which track (Basic or Enhanced) aligns with our vision?

The 2025 Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) refresh brings critical updates for ACOs—including new risk tracks, quality benchmarks, and payment incentives. Whether you’re a new or experienced ACO participant, choosing between BASIC, ENHANCED, and ENHANCED+ tracks will shape your financial and operational success.

The CMS 2025 Final Rule introduces major updates for ACOs, including the shift to digital quality measures (dQMs) and the phase-out of the CMS Web Interface after 2024. With incentives for eCQMs/MIPS CQMs and alignment to the Universal Foundation of quality measures, ACOs will benefit from streamlined, digital reporting focused on value-based care.