VA Official to Outline NextGen Community Care Contracting at HMA Conference
The Honorable Richard F. Topping, Assistant Secretary for Management and CFO at the VA, will speak at HMA's US Healthcare 2026 conference about the VA Community Care program. The VA is shifting from a network administration model to a healthcare purchasing and performance-management model, with the CCN NextGen being the first major modernization since the MISSION Act. The session will explore opportunities for integrating VA and community provider care.
The VA Community Care program operates as the nation's fourth-largest health insurer, giving its contracting decisions substantial weight across the healthcare industry. Topping's appearance at the October conference signals the department's intent to engage directly with potential industry partners as it restructures how community care is purchased and managed.
The CCN NextGen framework, structured as a decade-long multiple-award IDIQ, represents the first significant overhaul of community care contracting since the 2019 MISSION Act. Its sequential task order approach is designed to permit regional flexibility and ongoing refinements, creating periodic windows for new industry participation over the contract's lifespan.
This shift toward a healthcare purchasing and performance-management model could reshape how millions of veterans access community-based medical services. Providers and health plans may need to adapt to new contracting requirements and performance expectations, potentially affecting care coordination and wait times. The conference dialogue could influence how effectively the VA integrates its own care with community services, with implications for the competitive landscape among healthcare vendors serving the veteran population.