December 4, 2025
Primary Care First Model Demonstration Project - Nurse Practitioners as Certifying Physicians for Therapeutic Shoes and Inserts - Revised
National DME MAC Article
On March 12, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the Primary Care First (PCF) model will conclude on December 31, 2025, a year earlier than originally planned. The decision reflects CMS’s effort to better align with the Innovation Center’s statutory mandate and ensure stronger protection for taxpayers.
Primary Care First was launched as a voluntary five-year alternative payment model designed to reward value and quality in healthcare. Its innovative payment structure supported advanced primary care delivery, emphasizing the clinician-patient relationship, enhancing care for patients with complex chronic needs, and tying financial incentives to improved health outcomes. The model was built on principles from the earlier Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) initiative, incorporating feedback from primary care clinicians nationwide.
PCF was implemented across 26 regions and included two cohorts of participating practices. Cohort 1 began in January 2021, while Cohort 2 started in January 2022. In total, approximately 1,700 practices and 17 payer partners engaged in the program.
CMS emphasized that ending PCF early is part of a broader model portfolio adjustment to strengthen innovation, protect taxpayer resources, and help Americans live healthier lives. Stakeholders can explore the program’s impact through the Where Innovation is Happening interactive map
, available on CMS’s website here
.
Publication History
| December 4, 2025 | Revised to address the end of the PCF model on December 31, 2025 |
| November 5, 2020 | Originally Published |

