As CMS continues to advance its mission of improving care quality while reducing unnecessary costs, a new model is emerging on the horizon that shifts the spotlight toward services that should be avoided.

The Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, set to launch in 2026, is designed to help healthcare organizations reduce overuse of low-value or clinically inappropriate services, and to do so without sacrificing outcomes. Here’s what we know so far, and how this model may influence future care delivery, performance reporting, and payment reform efforts.

What Is the WISeR Model? The WISeR Model is a new, voluntary Innovation Center model under CMS. It will provide incentives to organizations that identify and reduce unnecessary services, particularly those that research or clinical guidelines have shown to be overused or not helpful in specific circumstances.

Examples may include:

• Imaging for low back pain without clinical red flags
• Certain repetitive lab panels or diagnostic tests
• Low-value screening in low-risk populations

Rather than simply rewarding volume or even just outcomes, WISeR is focused on clinical appropriateness – encouraging smarter, evidence-based care that avoids both risk and waste.

Who Can Participate? The model is still in its early stages, but eligible participants may include:

• Health systems
• Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
• Physician group practices
• Other advanced primary care organizations

Participants will need to demonstrate the ability to reduce selected low-value services and replace them with evidence-supported alternatives, such as patient education, physical therapy, watchful waiting, or shared decision-making protocols.

What Makes WISeR Different? Unlike traditional value-based models that emphasize improved outcomes or cost reduction over time, WISeR is about avoiding harm and excess upfront. Participants will be evaluated on:

• Reduction of targeted services
• Maintenance or improvement of care quality and outcomes
• Use of alternative care pathways
• Patient safety and satisfaction

This marks a shift in how CMS evaluates value, not just from “more efficient care”, but from avoiding care that shouldn't happen in the first place.

How This Ties Into Reporting and Strategy Although WISeR is not a reporting program like MIPS or MSSP, it intersects with many of the same domains. Organizations that pursue WISeR will still be required to:

• Track and report clinical performance data
• Align low-value service reduction with broader quality goals
• Monitor utilization trends, documentation, and patient engagement
• Ensure accuracy and compliance in any overlapping programs (e.g., MVPs or MSSP)

This makes having a data partner, like a CMS-qualified registry, more important than ever.

How Quantician Can Support Your Organization Whether or not your group is considering participation in WISeR, the direction of CMS policy is clear: reduce unnecessary care, invest in meaningful outcomes, and be able to prove it.

At Quantician, we help clients navigate these shifts through:

• Strategic quality measure selection
• Simplified data aggregation and submission
• Crosswalk support across programs like MIPS, MVPs, and MSSP
• Expert guidance as CMS programs evolve and overlap

For those preparing to participate in WISeR, or simply looking to build a smarter, more proactive reporting strategy, Quantician provides the infrastructure and insight to stay ahead.

What’s Next?

• Applications Due: July 25, 2025
• Model Launch: Performance year begins January 1, 2026
• Model Performance Ends: December 31, 2031
• Resources from CMS: WISeR Fact Sheet (CMS.gov)

If you're exploring ways to reduce unnecessary care or align your existing efforts with CMS’s evolving goals, we’re here to help.

Let’s start the conversation. Contact Quantician to learn how we can help you align care, quality, and performance – strategically and sustainably.