Baba Selected for CMS ACCESS Model Across All Four Clinical Tracks
Technology-enabled patient advocacy company Baba joins the CMS Innovation Center's 10-year test of technology-supported chronic care in Original Medicare
NEW YORK, June 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Baba, a technology-enabled patient advocacy and care coordination company, today announced that it has been selected to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ACCESS Model across all four of the model's clinical tracks. The Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions (ACCESS) Model is a first-of-its-kind, 10-year payment model in Original Medicare run by the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI), launching July 5, 2026, and designed to help people prevent and manage chronic disease through technology-supported care.
ACCESS tests an "outcome-aligned payment" approach that pays participating organizations based on whether patients measurably improve, rather than on the volume of services delivered. CMS selected roughly 150 organizations for the model's launch. Baba was chosen to manage care across all four of the clinical tracks the model opens with.
Baba serves Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid populations, connecting beneficiaries with trained advocates, including registered nurses (RNs), licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), and community health workers (CHWs), who coordinate care across members' medical, behavioral health, and social needs. The company's advocates work to find and secure the right benefits at the right time, before small problems turn into health crises or hardship. By supporting its human clinical team with AI workflows, Baba aims to give every beneficiary an effective medical and financial advocate.
What the ACCESS Model addresses
The model launches with four clinical tracks:
- Early Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic (eCKM) — hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and prediabetes.
- Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) — diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
- Musculoskeletal (MSK) — chronic musculoskeletal pain.
- Behavioral Health (BH) — depression and anxiety.
These conditions affect more than two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries. But the hardest part of managing a chronic condition often has nothing to do with the diagnosis. In 2024, half of people on Medicare lived on less than $43,200 a year, and one in four on less than $24,600. When a patient is rationing groceries to afford rent, no amount of remote monitoring will lower their blood pressure. The ACCESS Model recognizes that addressing those upstream drivers can disproportionately unlock better population-wide health.
Whole-person care in practice
Baba points to one anonymized patient as an example of how its care model works. The patient, identified only as Daphne, is on Original Medicare, living in a physically abusive household, and managing depression and anxiety that no medication regimen was improving. Years earlier, a provider had turned her away, and she had stopped asking for help at all.
Her Baba advocate did not hand her a list of hotlines and wish her luck. The advocate connected her with a therapist, coordinated with Adult Protective Services on her open case, and moved her into housing she already qualified for. Housed and finally in steady treatment, Daphne was able to shift from a constant state of survival toward recovery. It is the model of care that ACCESS is built to reward.
Baba's in-house platform powers this whole-person case management. Its AI tools allow a single advocate to understand a patient's medical history and coverage, triage what is urgent, complete forms in a fraction of the usual time, handle prior authorizations, avoid long phone holds, and route people to the right community or faith-based resources. According to the company, early signals from this approach point to lower cost of care and faster outcomes.
"My family became totally overwhelmed by the needs of navigating my grandmother's stroke recovery. Our healthcare system is extraordinarily capable but equally complex. ACCESS is a bet that ubiquitous, hyper-personalized case management will let more families focus on living their lives instead of becoming a full-time medical advocate for themselves," said Connor Sweeney, founder of Baba.
Baba's clinical team is led by Alicia Tennenbaum, LCSW, the former Executive Director of Care Transitions at the Mount Sinai Health System. Baba currently serves families with Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid in every state in the country.
About Baba
Baba is a technology-enabled patient advocacy and care coordination company serving Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid populations. Baba pairs trained advocates, including RNs, LCSWs, and CHWs, with AI-supported workflows to coordinate members' medical, behavioral health, and social needs, helping families navigate a complex healthcare system. The company serves families in all 50 states. To learn more, visit callbaba.com.
Media Contact:
Connor Sweeney
press@callbaba.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5e4821a3-9687-4696-9c7e-bea9e280b6ab
Baba Selected for CMS ACCESS Model Across All Four Clinical Tracks
Technology-enabled patient advocacy company Baba joins the CMS Innovation Center's 10-year test of technology-supported chronic care in Original Medicare.
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