---
type: source
title: "CMS BALANCE Model RFA: Full Design Details Including Capitation Adjustments and Manufacturer Lifestyle Requirements"
author: "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services"
url: https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/files/balance-rfa.pdf
date: 2026-01-08
domain: health
secondary_domains: [internet-finance]
format: policy-document
status: enrichment
priority: high
tags: [balance-model, cms, glp-1, capitation, medicaid, medicare, value-based-care, lifestyle-support, manufacturer, adherence]
processed_by: vida
processed_date: 2026-03-16
enrichments_applied: ["value-based care transitions stall at the payment boundary because 60 percent of payments touch value metrics but only 14 percent bear full risk.md", "GLP-1 receptor agonists are the largest therapeutic category launch in pharmaceutical history but their chronic use model makes the net cost impact inflationary through 2035.md", "glp-1-persistence-drops-to-15-percent-at-two-years-for-non-diabetic-obesity-patients-undermining-chronic-use-economics.md"]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

Note: The basic BALANCE model announcement is archived (2025-12-23-cms-balance-model-glp1-obesity-coverage.md). This archive captures the specific design elements from the RFA and CMS press release that are new as of January 2026.

**Eligibility criteria (new detail):**
- BMI thresholds (as per FDA-approved labeling)
- Evidence of metabolic dysfunction: heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, pre-diabetes
- Prior authorization requirements negotiated with manufacturers
- NOT blanket coverage — targeted at high-risk populations

**Manufacturer requirements (new detail):**
- Must provide lifestyle support programs to all model beneficiaries at NO COST to beneficiaries
- Lifestyle support: evidence-based, specifically addressing GI side effects, nutrient-dense diet, physical activity
- Manufacturers eligible: must market FDA-approved product showing at least 9.5% average body weight reduction
- All eligible manufacturers invited to negotiate "Key Terms" with CMS — those reaching agreement become model participants

**Payment structure details (new detail):**
- CMS exploring BOTH (1) adjustment of capitated payment rates for obesity AND (2) increased government reinsurance for participating plans
- Capitation adjustment is the key mechanism: plans covering obesity/GLP-1s would receive higher capitated rates, directly addressing the "short-term cost management vs. long-term savings" problem from March 12 research
- Reinsurance provides stop-loss for catastrophic GLP-1 costs — reduces financial risk for plans

**Volume and bridge program:**
- Medicare GLP-1 Bridge: July 2026 (earlier than BALANCE full rollout)
- Bridge allows access to manufacturer-negotiated prices even before BALANCE launches
- Provides immediate price relief while full model architecture is built

**Voluntary participation:**
- States can opt in or out — creates adverse selection risk (states with high obesity prevalence most likely to join)
- Plans can participate without state Medicaid doing so (Medicare Part D path)
- No state is required to join

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** The two-track payment mechanism (capitation adjustment + reinsurance) is the answer to the March 12 question about why MA plans restrict GLP-1s even under capitation. If CMS provides BOTH higher capitation rates for obesity AND stop-loss reinsurance, it directly removes the two barriers that cause restriction: (1) short-term cost pressure and (2) tail risk of high-cost adherents.

This is CMS explicitly designing around the misalignment I identified in March 12 research. The capitation adjustment is particularly important — it means plans covering GLP-1s will be paid MORE, not just expected to absorb the costs and hope for downstream savings.

**What surprised me:** The manufacturer-funded lifestyle support component is cleverly designed to shift implementation costs to manufacturers. CMS is not paying for behavioral interventions — manufacturers are. This reduces the program cost to payers while requiring manufacturers to fund the evidence-based lifestyle component that makes GLP-1s cost-effective.

**What I expected but didn't find:** No specific definition of what the lifestyle support includes (nutrition? exercise? coaching? digital tools?). The 9.5% body weight reduction threshold for manufacturer eligibility is interesting — it creates a quality bar but also favors newer branded products (semaglutide, tirzepatide) over older agents.

**KB connections:**
- This design directly addresses: "Medicare Advantage plans' near-universal prior authorization for GLP-1s demonstrates that capitation alone does not align incentives" (March 12 claim candidate)
- The capitation adjustment + reinsurance removes the two identified barriers to coverage
- Connects to: BALANCE model existing archive — this adds the financial mechanism details
- WHO behavioral therapy guideline aligns with manufacturer lifestyle support requirement — convergent global and US policy

**Extraction hints:**
- CLAIM CANDIDATE: "The CMS BALANCE Model's dual mechanism — capitation rate adjustment plus reinsurance — directly addresses the structural barriers (short-term cost, tail risk) that cause MA plans to restrict GLP-1s despite theoretical prevention incentives"
- The model design is extractable as: evidence that CMS understands the specific mechanism of VBC misalignment and is designing around it, not just hoping alignment follows coverage

**Context:** The RFA specifics became available in January 2026 when manufacturer applications were due. The Covington & Burling analysis and Obesity Action Coalition write-up both capture the design details more fully than the initial December 2025 announcement.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[value-based care transitions stall at the payment boundary because 60 percent of payments touch value metrics but only 14 percent bear full risk]]
WHY ARCHIVED: The BALANCE model's specific payment mechanism (capitation adjustment + reinsurance) is a direct policy response to the identified VBC misalignment — this design detail changes the analysis from "BALANCE is just drug coverage" to "BALANCE is structural incentive redesign"
EXTRACTION HINT: Focus on the dual payment mechanism as the structural innovation, not the drug access expansion (which is the headline but not the analytically important insight)


## Key Facts
- BALANCE Model eligibility requires BMI thresholds per FDA labeling plus evidence of metabolic dysfunction (heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, pre-diabetes)
- Prior authorization requirements are negotiated with manufacturers, not blanket coverage
- Manufacturers must reach 'Key Terms' agreement with CMS to become model participants
- Medicare GLP-1 Bridge launches July 2026, earlier than full BALANCE rollout
- Bridge provides access to manufacturer-negotiated prices before full model launches
- State and plan participation is voluntary, creating potential adverse selection risk
- 9.5% average body weight reduction is the manufacturer eligibility threshold
