The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reached its goal of having 30% of all Medicare payments tied to alternative payment models nearly a year ahead of schedule, the agency announced in March.

The target, first announced by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell last year, aimed to have 30% of payments tied to value of care delivered by the end of 2016. At the time the goal was announced, 20% of all Medicare payments were already linked to alternative payment models.

CMS cleared the 30% mark in January, more than 11 months early, an accomplishment the agency credits to 121 new accountable care organizations and the growth of payment models such as the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative. 

CMS aims to have 50% of payments value-linked by 2018.