What describes the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation?

What describes the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation?

• A. A division of CMS that tests various payment and service delivery models to achieve better health care while lowering costs by improving healthcare systems
• B. A federal program that enforces Medicare reimbursements for hospitals
• C. A component of HHS that manages patient records nationwide
• D. A private consortium funding new healthcare startups

Answer: (A)

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation is a division within CMS focused on testing new ways to pay for and deliver health care in order to improve quality while lowering costs. Created by the Affordable Care Act, it runs demonstration projects across Medicare (and often involves Medicaid and CHIP) to see whether innovative payment approaches and care models—like bundled payments or accountable care organizations—can lead to better outcomes at lower expense. The goal is to identify models that work well and could be scaled up nationwide if proven effective. It’s not about enforcing reimbursements, managing patient records nationwide, or private funding; its work is experimental and evaluative, centered on payment reform and care delivery redesign.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation is a division within CMS focused on testing new ways to pay for and deliver health care in order to improve quality while lowering costs. Created by the Affordable Care Act, it runs demonstration projects across Medicare (and often involves Medicaid and CHIP) to see whether innovative payment approaches and care models—like bundled payments or accountable care organizations—can lead to better outcomes at lower expense. The goal is to identify models that work well and could be scaled up nationwide if proven effective. It’s not about enforcing reimbursements, managing patient records nationwide, or private funding; its work is experimental and evaluative, centered on payment reform and care delivery redesign.