The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oncology Care Model Halfway Through: Perspectives from Diverse Participants

Abstract

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is a 5-year model developed and tested by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that uses an episode-based payment model triggered by the receipt of chemotherapy to test if changing payment mechanisms, in conjunction with a requirement for enhanced patient services, can generate clinical transformation that will orient practices toward more patient-centered, high-value care to reduce expenditures and preserve or enhance quality of care for beneficiaries. The model is geographically diverse with practices in 34 states and encompasses practices ranging in size from 1 to more than 400 practitioners, with a multitude of business structures. Given these varied clinical and business environments, we believe that OCM-participating practices will have different opportunities and challenges as they work toward practice transformation, but they will likely share similarities with other practices in similar clinical and business settings. This commentary shares the experiences of four diverse groups participating in OCM - three practices and one network of practices - halfway through the model's projected 5-year life cycle in the expectation that these experiences will be of value to other practices embarking toward patient-centered, high-value practice transformation.