Miranda Stork M.B.A.

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are under increasing pressure to improve performance, meet quality benchmarks, and optimize financial outcomes, all while managing data across disparate systems. Too often, the conversation centers on dashboards and reporting tools, yet overlooks a more fundamental capability: data acquisition.

The 2026 CMS Final Rule introduces one of the most comprehensive and consequential shifts in the evolution of value-based care. Rather than a routine update, this year’s rule signals a strategic realignment of the Medicare quality reporting ecosystem, one that expands mandatory participation, tightens reporting requirements, introduces new care models, and accelerates the transition to digital quality measurement. Healthcare organizations must respond with clarity and urgency.

Most practices are already doing the work of value-based care (VBC); they’re just not getting paid for it. While clinical teams focus on care coordination, preventive screenings, and chronic disease management, many of those services go unreimbursed because the infrastructure to track, report, and bill for them simply isn’t in place.