'Band-Aid on a Tumor': Critics Blast Biden Rebrand of Trump's Medicare Privatization Scheme [View all]

"Changing the name doesn't change the fact that the Direct Contracting program is backdoor privatization of Medicare," said one progressive advocate.

Rejecting pressure to terminate the program in its entirety, the Biden administration on Thursday announced it is redesigning a Trump-era experiment that physicians and progressive lawmakers have criticized as a scheme to fully privatize Medicare.

"This dangerous experiment must be stopped before it further harms the health of vulnerable seniors."

Instead of ending what's known as the Direct Contracting model, which the Trump administration officially launched in 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave the program a new name: ACO REACH, which stands for Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health.

In addition to the name change and fresh veneer—a step in line with the healthcare industry's call for a "rebranding"—CMS said the program will now span four years instead of eight and will include requirements aimed at ensuring "transparency" and "equity."

The changes are slated to take effect on January 1, 2023.

Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), a doctor-led group that has spearheaded the opposition to Direct Contracting, was far from satisfied with the Biden administration's changes, which the organization argued are more cosmetic than substantive.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/02/25/band-aid-tumor-critics-blast-biden-rebrand-trumps-medicare-privatization-scheme