29 June 2016 - The CMS oncology care model is an innovative, multi-payer model focused on providing higher quality, more coordinated oncology care.

Under the Oncology Care Model (OCM), physician group practices have entered into payment arrangements that include financial and performance accountability for episodes of care surrounding chemotherapy administration to cancer patients. The practices participating in OCM have committed to providing enhanced services to Medicare beneficiaries, such as care coordination and navigation, and to using national treatment guidelines for care. OCM is a five-year model that begins on July 1, 2016, and runs through June 30, 2021.

After an open application and selection period, nearly 200 physician groups and 17 payers, in addition to CMS, are participating in OCM. Practice participants are Medicare-enrolled physician groups identified by a single Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and composed of one or more physicians who treat Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with cancer. Participating practices cover urban, suburban and rural areas and range in size from solo oncologists to large practices with hundreds of providers. Other payers are commercial insurers that will align their oncology payment models with Medicare’s model and support OCM practices in their practice transformation efforts.

View CMS press release