CMS ACCESS Model in 2026: What Original Medicare Beneficiaries Should Know

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched the Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions Model—called ACCESS—on July 5, 2026. It is a voluntary, 10-year test in Original Medicare of a new way to pay participating organizations for technology-supported care that helps people manage certain chronic conditions.

On August 17, CMS updated a list of more than 150 organizations accepted as applicants for the model’s launch. CMS cautions that appearing on the list is not an endorsement and does not guarantee participation. Each organization still must complete requirements such as Medicare enrollment, a participation agreement, and final CMS approval.

ACCESS begins with four clinical tracks. The early cardio-kidney-metabolic track includes high blood pressure and certain combinations of abnormal lipids, overweight or obesity, and prediabetes. A second cardio-kidney-metabolic track includes diabetes, certain chronic kidney disease, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The other tracks address chronic musculoskeletal pain and behavioral health conditions including depression or anxiety. Having one of these conditions does not automatically make a particular service or organization appropriate for you. The ACCESS participant must confirm that you meet the model’s eligibility rules for the relevant track.

CMS says people with Original Medicare who have a qualifying condition may enroll directly with a participating ACCESS organization or after a referral from a primary care practitioner or another clinician. A person may participate in more than one clinical track, including through different organizations, when eligible.

Medicare Advantage enrollees are not included in the CMS ACCESS Model, although an individual plan may offer a similar program under its own rules. Before signing up, confirm whether you currently have Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage and whether the organization has final CMS approval for the track you need.

ACCESS gives participating care teams flexibility to combine clinical support with technology that fits the condition and patient. Depending on the organization and track, that could involve connected devices, digital tools, education, coaching, symptom tracking, or remote communication alongside care from your existing clinicians.

The model does not mean every app, wearable, device, or digital health company is Medicare-approved or covered. Ask what specific services and equipment you would receive, who reviews the information, how often a clinician responds, what happens when results are concerning, and whether the technology is accessible for your language, vision, hearing, mobility, and internet needs.

Instead of paying the ACCESS organization separately for each activity, CMS uses recurring outcome-aligned payments for managing a qualifying condition. Full payment depends on measurable results, such as improvement or control of blood pressure, diabetes-related measures, chronic-pain symptoms and function, or depression and anxiety scores.

An outcome-based payment model is not a promise that an individual patient will improve, and it should not pressure you to pursue an unsafe target. Ask how the organization sets goals with you, accounts for other health conditions, responds to side effects or worsening symptoms, and involves your treating clinicians in medication or treatment decisions.

CMS requires ACCESS participants to make reasonable efforts to identify a patient’s primary care practitioner and referring clinician and to share standardized clinical updates at important points in care. Participants must use secure electronic methods and comply with applicable privacy, licensure, and quality requirements.

Before enrolling, identify which clinician will remain responsible for your overall care and which decisions the ACCESS team may make. Ask how care plans, device readings, test results, medication concerns, and urgent issues will reach your regular care team. ACCESS is designed to complement traditional care, not replace emergency services or every in-person visit.

CMS allows an ACCESS participant to choose whether to collect or waive beneficiary cost sharing for its outcome-aligned payments, but the participant must apply that choice uniformly. If it collects cost sharing, it must clearly disclose the expected beneficiary payment before enrollment. There is no beneficiary cost sharing for a separate co-management payment when a primary care or referring clinician reviews updates and coordinates care.

That does not make all related health care free. Tests, medications, clinician visits, equipment, or services outside the ACCESS payment may follow the usual Medicare coverage and cost-sharing rules. Request a written explanation of what the model payment covers, what you may owe, whether Medigap or other insurance may help, and whom to contact about a bill.

Because ACCESS is being evaluated as a Medicare Innovation Center model, CMS says a small share of people who try to enroll may be randomly assigned to a control group for a particular track. Someone in the control group does not receive the ACCESS services for that track as part of the model.

Control-group assignment does not take away regular Medicare coverage. CMS says those individuals keep full access to Medicare services and may continue working with their usual health care providers. Ask the organization to explain the enrollment and assignment process before sharing device data or changing an existing care arrangement.

Verify the organization in CMS’s public ACCESS information and ask whether it has final approval, not merely accepted-applicant status. Confirm the exact clinical track, eligibility requirements, start and end dates, expected costs, technology provided, privacy practices, accessibility support, clinician credentials, and process for complaints or leaving the program.

Also discuss the option with a clinician who knows your health history. Do not stop medication, delay medically necessary care, or replace emergency help with an app or monitoring service. If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a medical emergency, call 911; for a mental health crisis, call or text 988.

CMS: “ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model,” “ACCESS Technical Frequently Asked Questions,” and “ACCESS Model Accepted Applicants,” updated August 17, 2026. Medicare.gov: “How does Medicare work?” and “What Part B covers.” These official sources explain the model’s launch, qualifying tracks, Original Medicare eligibility, payment and cost-sharing approach, care coordination, safeguards, accepted-applicant caveat, and the distinction between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.