The Coral Blog
Expert perspectives on policy, performance, and system change.
The Coral Blog is where we break down what’s happening in health care and what it means for leaders working to improve outcomes and affordability. Drawing from our cross-sector experience, we offer commentary that connects the dots between regulation, strategy, and operations.
CMS Announces New Preventive Health Model: What You Need to Know About MAHA ELEVATE
CMS has announced the MAHA ELEVATE (Make America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-based Approaches Through Evidence) Model, a new voluntary initiative aimed at transforming how Original Medicare approaches chronic disease prevention and whole-person wellness.
CMMI Launches New Technology-Supported Chronic Care Model: What You Need to Know About ACCESS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center (CMMI) has announced the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model, a new ten-year voluntary payment model designed to support continuous, technology-enabled care for Medicare beneficiaries with common chronic conditions.
Key Focus Areas in State Rural Health Transformation Program Initiatives
After analyzing 37 state Rural Health Transformation Program applications that are now publicly available, Coral has identified emerging models, unexpected approaches, and promising experiments that signal where rural health care is headed. Our National Themes and State Initiative Tracker includes this analysis, a state-by-state initiative matrix, and an inventory of links to public applications.
Bridging Medicaid and Public Health: Turning Shared Goals into Shared Systems
As states face mounting budget pressures, workforce shortages, and rising rates of preventable disease, one truth has become clear: Medicaid and public health can no longer afford to work in silos. The National Association of Medicaid Directors’ new resource, A Medicaid Leader’s Playbook: Action Steps to Building Public Health Partnerships, offers a practical roadmap for how agencies can work together to improve outcomes and maximize impact.
CMMI’s GLP-1 Model: Why GLP-1s are a Policy Test Case for High-Cost Drugs
GLP-1 therapies have rapidly moved from niche treatments for type 2 diabetes to household names shaping conversations about obesity, cardiovascular risk, and long-term population health. Alongside their rapid uptake has come intense attention from policymakers and payers, who are weighing how to balance affordability, access, and evidence.
Transforming Rural Health: What States Need to Know About the $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Fund
Rural hospitals and health systems are vital access points for millions of Americans, but for decades, they’ve faced structural and financial challenges that make long-term sustainability difficult. Now, with the launch of the Rural Health Transformation Fund, states have a new opportunity to invest in rural health care in a way that is both transformative and accountable.
CMS Proposes New Mandatory Specialty Care Model: What You Need to Know About ASM
ASM is a five-year, mandatory model that will hold outpatient specialists accountable for their performance on relevant quality, cost, care coordination, and electronic health record use metrics. The model specifically targets heart failure and low back pain. The model maintains fee-for-service payment, but retrospectively evaluates performance on cost and quality metrics, with payment adjustments based on performance outcomes.