Oh, the CMS ACCESS program: Medicare’s latest “innovative” gift to chronic care, where tech dreams big, and docs get the crumbs.
Picture this:
Independent physicians, those plucky solo warriors already drowning in CMS’s annual fee cuts, spot the model and mutter, “Hey, $30 a quarter for co-managing patients while tech bros offload the grunt work and malpractice roulette? That’s not a payment, that’s a tip for the barista!” But shh, no one listens—because who cares about the frontline grunts when Silicon Valley’s popping champagne over “scalable solutions”?
Fast-forward to rate reveal:
Healthtech, once high-fiving over outcome-aligned payments, now wails like toddlers denied candy. “These rates are below cost! We can’t afford our fancy apps and devices!” Cry me a river, folks—turns out $360-$420 a year per patient ain’t the gold rush.
Meanwhile, indie docs are over here like, “Welcome to our world, where CMS promises the moon but delivers pocket lint.”
Moral:
In healthcare policy, the hype train always derails at the budget station. 😂
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