RFA Released March 31, 2026 -- Applications Due May 17, 2026

The Future of Medicare is LEAD

A 10-year model designed for independent practices ready to deliver better care and share in the savings. Your practice stays yours. We handle the rest.

Learn About LEAD Talk to Pathways

The LEAD Model at a Glance

Year Commitment

The longest ACO model CMS has ever tested. Invest in transformation with confidence.

No Benchmark Rebasing

Keep the value of your care improvements. Your savings are your savings.

Built for Independents

Lower alignment minimums, rural add-on payments, and support designed for your practice size.

Prospective Payments

Predictable, capitated revenue instead of fee-for-service uncertainty.

ACO REACH Participant CMS Innovation Center Value-Based Care

A Different Kind of Partner

We go where your busy practice can't

Our business is the business of healthcare. We extend your practice to every setting your patients move through -- the hospital, the SNF, and the home.

Hospital & ER Coordination

When your patients are admitted at 2 AM, we're there. Our team coordinates directly with hospitalists and ER providers, managing transitions and ensuring your patients return to your care -- not to a readmission.

ADT Alerts Discharge Planning Readmission Prevention

SNF & Post-Acute Management

We actively manage your patients through skilled nursing and rehab, tracking recovery milestones and accelerating safe transitions home. Shorter stays, better outcomes, lower cost.

Recovery Tracking Length-of-Stay Reduction Transition Planning

Skilled Care at Home

In LEAD and ACO REACH, your patients can receive skilled nursing at home without a homebound requirement. That means post-discharge visits, chronic disease monitoring, medication management, and care gap closure -- all in the patient's home, at a fraction of the cost of a facility stay.

No Homebound Requirement Disease Management Care Gap Closure

Why Now

The RFA is live. Applications close May 17.

CMS released the LEAD Model Request for Applications on March 31, 2026. The application portal is open now, with a deadline of May 17, 2026. This is the first cohort -- and early participants lock in their benchmarks for the full 10 years with no rebasing.

Pathways is applying as a Renewing ACO on the Global Risk Option with an abbreviated application. Practices that join us now enter at the ground floor of a decade-long model designed to reward the care you're already delivering.

Understand the LEAD Model

2027

Model Launch Year

10yr

Model Duration

Cost to Participate

100%

Shared Savings (Global)

Savings Estimator

See what LEAD could mean for your practice

Use our interactive calculator to estimate potential shared savings based on your practice size, patient panel, and care setting.

Estimate Your Savings

ACO Intelligence Engine

Our AI-powered analytics platform doesn't just track performance -- it predicts and prevents. ALICE analyzes claims, identifies care gaps, optimizes risk adjustment, and surfaces the insights that drive savings.

HCC Optimization Care Gap Detection Risk Stratification Quality Analytics

Our Business Is the Business of Healthcare

Your practice. Our infrastructure.
Better outcomes, together.

We don't just manage risk -- we manage care. From the hospital to the home, we give your patients the support they need and your practice the results it deserves.

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