States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) Model

AHEAD@cms.hhs.gov

The AHEAD model is a state total cost of care (TCOC) model that works to drive state and regional healthcare transformation and multi-payer alignment, with the goal of improving the total health of a state population and lowering costs. The AHEAD Model will provide participating states with funding and other tools to address rising healthcare costs and support health equity.

States should select one of three cohorts depending on readiness to implement the model:

• Cohort 1: 18-month pre-implementation period, tentatively July 2024 – December 2025. States may choose Cohort 1 if they are ready to apply and implement the AHEAD Model as soon as possible. Cohort 1's first performance year will tentatively begin in January 2026, with a total of 9 performance years.
• Cohort 2: 30-month pre-implementation period, tentatively July 2024 – December 2026. States may choose Cohort 2 if they are ready to apply to the AHEAD Model but need additional time to prepare for implementation, such as developing Medicaid components, recruiting health care providers to participate, and developing data infrastructure. Cohort 2's first performance year will tentatively begin in January 2027, with a total of 8 performance years.
• Cohort 3: 24-month pre-implementation period, tentatively January 2025 – December 2026. States that need additional time to apply to the AHEAD Model should apply to join Cohort 3. Cohort 3's first performance year will tentatively begin in January 2027, with a total of 8 performance years.

Fact sheet

Eligible applicants are state agencies with the authority and capacity to accept the award funding.

Award ceiling: $12,000,000
Project period: Up to 9 years
Estimated number of awards: 8
Estimated total program funding: $96,000,000

Links to the full announcement and online application process are available through grants.gov. The application instructions will be found on the related documents tab.

While not required, potential applicants are encouraged to email a letter of intent to AHEAD@cms.hhs.gov. The letter of intent deadline is March 18, 2024 for cohorts 1 and 2 and August 12, 2024 for Cohort 3.