Medicare's health tech spending test (www.axios.com)

Medicare is launching a new pilot program called ACCESS, aimed at determining whether health tech companies, particularly those utilizing AI, can lower costs while enhancing patient care. Starting Sunday, the program will involve over 150 healthcare organizations and shift the payment structure from a fee-for-service model to one based on achieving specific health outcomes, such as managing chronic conditions that affect two-thirds of Medicare enrollees. Providers will be incentivized to leverage technology and automation to meet these outcomes, with fixed monthly payments as low as $7.50 per patient, pushing the adoption of more tech-driven solutions. This initiative is significant for the AI and machine learning community as it represents a crucial shift in healthcare payment models, potentially heralding broader acceptance of tech-heavy solutions. While there are concerns that AI may inadvertently increase healthcare costs through administrative inefficiencies, ACCESS aims to prove that a focus on measurable health outcomes can drive down overall spending. With the backing of Medicare, the nation's largest payer, the program could set a precedent for commercial insurers to follow suit, making it essential to monitor how successful this model is in improving health while managing expenditures.