Under the five-year waiver Massachusetts will shift its Medicaid program from a fee-for-service model to a system of accountable care organizations.

The all-payer model will be used as a test to determine whether tying health care payments to health outcomes, instead of the current fee-for-service payment model, improves care quality.

Reaction to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act final rule is mixed, with some stakeholders applauding the rule's added flexibility and others raising concern that going forward CMS might continue to kick certain requirements down the road, like it has done with the meaningful use program.

American Health Line rounds up the latest health care news in the states.

If the draft agreement is finalized, Vermont will be the first state to adopt an all-payer health care system that would cover all providers.

American Medical Group Association President and CEO Donald Fisher says the legislation's "suggested policy changes are a positive step that will improve the long-term viability of the" Medicare Shared Savings Program.

CMS CMO Patrick Conway says the report "shows both progress in states being catalysts for health care transformation and the value of CMS' collaboration with states."

CMS plans to give providers four new options for the level and pace at which they comply with payment reforms called for under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.

New CMS data show that just one-third of the more than 400 accountable care organizations in Medicare's Pioneer ACO and Medicare Shared Savings programs generated enough savings to receive bonus payments.

Some experts say accountable care organizations have not resulted in savings, while others say it is too early to make a conclusion.