Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM) participant lookup
Up to 12% of Part B revenue, scored against your specialty peers.
ASM is mandatory for named specialists beginning January 2027. The episode data CMS will use is already available through MIPS today. Check whether you are on the list, then prepare on that data.
CMS final participant list, September 2026
Where the 5,556 named clinicians practice
- AK
- ME: no clinicians on the final list
- WI
- VT
- NH
- WA
- ID
- MT
- ND
- MN: no clinicians on the final list
- IL
- MI
- NY
- MA
- OR
- NV: no clinicians on the final list
- WY: no clinicians on the final list
- SD
- IA
- IN
- OH
- PA
- NJ
- CT
- RI
- CA
- UT
- CO
- NE
- MO
- KY
- WV
- VA
- MD
- DE
- AZ
- NM
- KS
- AR
- TN
- NC
- SC
- DC: no clinicians on the final list
- OK
- LA
- MS
- AL
- GA
- HI
- TX
- FL
- 400+
- 150 to 399
- 50 to 149
- 1 to 49
- None named
- Heart failure cohort
- 2,215
- Low back pain cohort
- 3,341
- In small practices
- 38%
- States with named clinicians
- 46
What ASM is
Five mandatory years of accountability for episode cost and quality
Specialty-specific peer groups
You are no longer compared to the general pool, only to peers within your clinical specialty.
Episode cost measurement
Performance is determined by the total cost of care for defined clinical episodes.
Mandatory revenue risk
Participation is mandatory, and at full maturity the payment adjustment reaches 12% of Part B revenue.
What is at stake
Adjustments reach ±12% of Part B revenue
Under MIPS, most practices cluster near the performance threshold. ASM is designed to create meaningful payment differentiation: CMS chose penalties rather than bonuses for improvement activities and interoperability specifically so that scores spread apart.
Understanding the scoring methodologyThe range escalates each year. Adjustments land two years after the performance year, so 2027 performance is paid in 2029.
| Feature | MIPS | ASM |
|---|---|---|
| Benchmarked against | All MIPS clinicians | Specialty peers only |
| Performance threshold | Fixed target | No threshold; relative only |
| Maximum adjustment | ±9% | ±12% by 2031 |
CMS decides who is in by specialty, episode volume, and where you practice.
Who ASM covers
Specialty and volume determine participation
Heart failure cohort
2,215 named
Cardiology
- Specialty
- Cardiology (primary specialty code)
- Volume requirement
- 20+ episodes a yearTwo Part B claims within 180 days from the same clinician
- Attribution
- Must bill at least 30% of episode services
Low back pain cohort
3,341 named
Spine and pain specialties
- Specialties
- Orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pain management, anesthesiology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation
- Volume requirement
- 20+ episodes a yearAn ICD-10 low back pain diagnosis plus a confirming code within 60 days
- Attribution
- Must bill at least 30% of episode services
Volume is assessed using 2025 data for the 2027 performance year.
View eligibility criteria and exceptionsCMS has already published the clinicians it expects to name. Start with that list.
Final participant list
Search the 5,556 clinicians CMS named for 2027
Source: CMS final ASM participant list for 2027 (September 2026), which replaced the February preliminary list. Participation is determined per TIN and NPI, so a clinician who bills under two TINs can appear twice. CMS rechecks eligibility every year.
Not on the list? You're out for 2027, but CMS checks again every year.
Mandatory areas
Check whether you practice in one of the 235 mandatory areas
Or browse by state
You're on the final list. You're in for 2027.
You're not on it, but your area is mandatory. Watch your volume for 2028.
Either way, the first performance year starts January 1, 2027.
Key dates
From today to the 2029 payment adjustments
Today
Prepare using existing MIPS data
Feb 2026
Preliminary participant list published
Sept 2026
Final participant list published
Jan 2027
Performance year begins
2029
First payment adjustments
Preparation
The practices that prepare before January 1 start the model ahead
The episode-based cost measures CMS will use for ASM scoring are structurally the same as what's available through MIPS today. The cadence differs, but the methodology underneath is the same.
Detailed preparation checklist- 1
Understand your cost position
Your MIPS episode data shows which patients drive costs. The same cohorts will drive ASM performance. - 2
Identify variation
Episode-level visibility reveals where costs diverge from peers: imaging, hospitalizations, and post-acute care. - 3
Build primary care relationships
ASM requires collaborative care arrangements. Start those conversations now. - 4
Test your reporting infrastructure
The 75% data completeness rule means gaps in data capture become zeros in scoring.
Most of that work runs on episode data you already have through MIPS.
How VBCA helps
The platform we built for MIPS already does this work
Episode cost analytics
We built cost analytics because we needed it ourselves. The platform surfaces CMS cost data, identifies which patients drive episode costs, and shows where you stand relative to peers.
Episode-level cost visibility comes standard.
Cardiology-specific measures
Our own CMS-approved measures address gaps in existing measure sets:
- Echocardiogram stewardship: Appropriate use in CHF, targeting utilization patterns ASM will penalize
- Noninvasive ischemic imaging: Reduces unnecessary stress imaging in chronic coronary disease
- SGLT2 inhibitors in CKD: Evidence-based prescribing that reduces heart failure hospitalizations
Unified program tracking
MIPS, MVPs, and ASM draw from overlapping data. Load once, track everything. If you fall below ASM's episode threshold and revert to MIPS, you'll have visibility into both.
Our ASM analysis
The model, the list, and each cohort in depth
What is the Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM)?
ASM is a mandatory five-year CMS Innovation Center model, running from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2031, that holds specialists financially accountable for episode costs and quality. It covers heart failure care (cardiology) and low back pain care (spine and pain specialists) in CMS-designated mandatory areas.
How do I know if I'm an ASM participant?
CMS published a preliminary participant list in February 2026 naming 6,637 clinicians, and posted the final list for the 2027 performance year to data.cms.gov in September 2026. The lookup tool on this page searches the final list by name, NPI, or organization. CMS's recheck on 2025 claims could only remove clinicians, so no one was added between February and September.
How many clinicians are on the ASM participant list?
The final list includes 5,556 clinicians: 2,215 in the Heart Failure cohort (cardiology) and 3,341 in the Low Back Pain cohort (orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pain management, anesthesiology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation). About 38% are in small practices. The February preliminary list had 6,637.
How much revenue is at risk under ASM?
Adjustments are up to ±9% of Medicare Part B payments for the 2027 performance year, applied in 2029 after a two-year lag. They rise to ±12% for the 2031 performance year, applied in 2033. Scores are relative to specialty peers rather than a fixed threshold.
Which specialties are affected by ASM?
Heart Failure cohort: cardiology. Low Back Pain cohort: orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pain management, anesthesiology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation.
How can I prepare for ASM before 2027?
Start with your MIPS cost category data. The episode-based cost measures CMS will use for ASM scoring are structurally the same as the MIPS episode measures available today, so your current episode patterns show where you are likely to stand.
Send us your NPI
Get an ASM readiness read
Or email Support@VBCA.com