Over one third of all U.S. health care payments are already flowing through alternative payment models — Where does your organization stand?

The Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (HCPLAN) was launched in 2015 to accelerate the health care system’s transition to accountable care by combining the innovation, power, and reach of the private and public sectors. By sharing information about successful models and encouraging private entities to share their best practices, the HCPLAN works to reduce barriers and accelerate adoption of APMs. Learn more about our mission, vision and goals.

The HCPLAN is measuring nationwide progress toward APM adoption and accountable care to help build a more effective health care system. Health plans play a critical role in this process, as described below.

Each year the HCPLAN recruits health plans and other payers (e.g., state Medicaid agencies) in the Spring and releases results in the Fall. By using common definitions of alternative payments from the HCPLAN’s APM Framework, health plans across the country can contribute to and learn from our collective understanding of progress toward accountable care.

The HCPLAN is currently recruiting! Contact us to learn more about how you can get involved.

When reporting 2023 data in the 2024 Measurement Effort, participating payers will report total in- and out-of-network health care spending paid to providers through each of the categories and subcategories in 2023 or the most recent 12 months in the commercial, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage markets. For reporting purposes, individual payer data will be aggregated with data from other payers. Individual payer data will be kept strictly confidential. It will not be shared with other participants or parties outside of the HCPLAN data collection team. 

The HCPLAN’s APM Framework provides standardized definitions and categories of APMs. The HCPLAN published the original APM Framework in January of 2016 and refreshed it in 2017. The HCPLAN will continue to use the category definitions from the refreshed APM Framework to measure APMs, using similar metrics and methodology as were used in 2023.

To see the latest APM results, click here.

HCPLAN has adopted this uniform accountable care definition for the industry:

“Accountable Care” centers on the patient and aligns their care team to support shared decision-making and help realize the best achievable health outcomes for all through equitable, comprehensive, high quality, affordable, longitudinal care.

This definition was developed by the Accountable Care Action Collaborative (ACAC), which led several rounds of iteration and solicited written public input on it from 2022 HCPLAN Town Hall participants.

For the purposes of the annual HCPLAN measurement effort, lives in accountable care arrangements must include two elements: 1) the care is longitudinal with a duration of at least six months or longer; and 2) the payment model incorporates accountability for total cost of care (TCOC) for attributed patients.

To see the latest results of lives in accountable care arrangements, click here.

OMB Control Number: 0938-1297