Several healthcare provider groups have joined together to urge federal health officials to refine and improve the way they design Medicare innovation projects.

Healthcare Leaders for Accountable Innovation in Medicare, which counts the American Health Care Association as a member, officially launched on Thursday with a mission to support and collaborate with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation as it moves ahead with demonstration projects.

“Clearly, we need more consistent collaboration between CMMI and those affected by its decisions, which involves greater transparency and data sharing,” said Mary R. Grealy, president of the Healthcare Leadership Council, which is part of the coalition’s steering committee.

Healthcare Leaders for Accountable Innovation in Medicare, or AIM, will primarily focus on four key priorities:

  • Limiting and scale and scope of demonstration projects, so that they still allow for significant samples without impacting a large number of providers

  • Ensure more stakeholder engagement and greater transparency when collecting input and sharing data on pilot projects

  • Design effective quality measurement tools to monitor the results of new pilots

  • Allow Congress to effectively monitor CMMI and carry out its responsibility to approve changes to Medicare policies

The group also voiced concerns about “more aggressive proposals,” such as cardiac and joint replacement bundles that go beyond “the common understanding of a ‘model test,’” in a recently published whitepaper.

The coalition’s concerns over the scope and possible adverse effects of CMMI’s demonstration projects echo sentiments made by Republican lawmakers in September.