thority of the Secretary under subsection 
(f) to waive other provisions of such sec-
tion. 
‘‘(ii) PROVISION
OF
REMOTE
MONI-
TORING
IN
CONNECTION
WITH
HOME 
HEALTH SERVICES.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed as preventing an 
ACO from including payments for remote 
patient monitoring and home-based video 
conferencing services in connection with 
the provision of home health services 
(under conditions for which payment for 
such services would not be made under sec-
tion 1895 for such services) in a manner 
that is financially equivalent to the fur-
nishing of a home health visit. 
‘‘(4) ESTABLISHING GREATER CERTAINTY FOR 
ACOS.— 
‘‘(A) BENCHMARKS AND PAYMENTS.—The 
Secretary shall conduct a demonstration project 
to test the use of payment benchmarks that 
take into account geographic area differences, 
such as differences in spending trends within 
and across regions, and variations in delivery 
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and utilization based on the socioeconomic sta-
tus of beneficiaries served. 
‘‘(B) ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF ACOS OF 
BENCHMARKS AND PAST PERFORMANCE.—The 
Secretary shall inform ACOs, in advance of 
each performance period, of the quality bench-
marks applicable to the ACO and period and of 
the past performance (if any) of the ACO under 
this section. 
‘‘(C) STUDY AND REPORT ON FEASIBILITY 
ON PROVIDING ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO MEDI-
CARE CLAIMS DATA.—The Secretary shall con-
duct a study regarding the feasibility of estab-
lishing a system of electronic access of pro-
viders of services and suppliers to in-process 
and complete patient claims data. Such system 
may be a modification of an existing data base, 
such as the Virtual Research Data Center. The 
study shall take into account the measures 
needed to ensure the security and privacy of 
beneficiary and provider information. Not later 
than one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Con-
gress a report on such study. The Secretary 
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shall include in such report such recommenda-
tions as the Secretary deems appropriate.’’. 
(b) REQUIRING TESTING OF GLOBAL CAPITATION 
PAYMENT MODEL.—Section 1899(i) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395jjj(i)) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OPTION TO 
USE OTHER PAYMENT MODELS’’ and inserting ‘‘AL-
TERNATIVE PAYMENT MODELS’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘except that the Sec-
retary shall, beginning no later than January 1, 
2016, establish one or more demonstration programs 
to test the payment model described in paragraph 
(3)(A)’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘is any 
payment model’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(i) a global capitation model in which an 
ACO is at financial risk for all items and serv-
ices covered under parts A and B; and 
‘‘(ii) any other payment model that the 
Secretary determines will improve the quality 
and efficiency of items and services furnished 
under this title.’’. 
(c) ASSIGNMENT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT SERVICES 
OF NON-PHYSICIAN PRACTITIONERS.—Section 1899(c) of 
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the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395jjj(c)) is amended 
by inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of an ACO that is located 
in a rural or medically underserved area or that is affili-
ated with a Federally qualified health center or rural 
health clinic, an ACO professional described in subsection 
(h)(1)(B))’’ after ‘‘subsection (h)(1)(A)’’. 
(d) CREATING INCENTIVES
FOR ACO DEVELOP-
MENT.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall develop a mechanism to make permanent those ACO- 
related pilot programs, including the Advance Payment 
ACO Model, that have been successful. The Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report on the study and shall 
include in the report such recommendations, including 
such changes in legislation, as the Secretary deems appro-
priate. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply to plan years beginning on or 
after January 1, 2016. 
Æ 
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