15 Oct The Task Force Released a Specialty Contracting Playbook
WASHINGTON D.C. (October 15, 2026) – The Health Care Transformation Task Force today released a new Specialty Contracting Playbook to help specialty care organizations, accountable care organizations (ACOs), and payers negotiate and implement contracts that support the transformation of specialty care delivery.
As risk-based contracts continue to grow, engaging specialists in value-based care (VBC) is vital to improving outcomes, managing costs, and reducing fragmentation for high-risk patients. The Specialty Contracting Playbook outlines goals, solutions, and key decision points across 10 contracting domains, including building a network, sharing data, determining patient attribution, and assigning financial risk. The accompanying worksheets for payers, ACOs, and specialists translate these decision points into actionable prompts for negotiations and serve as a summary of the contract structure.
“Meaningful transformation of specialty care requires collaboration and alignment among specialists and risk-bearing organizations such as payers and ACOs,” said Theresa Dreyer, CEO of the Health Care Transformation Task Force. “This Playbook provides practical guidance to help organizations navigate contracting decisions and develop specialty arrangements that support better outcomes and coordinated care.”
“Engaging specialists in accountable care is an important step toward improving quality and managing costs,” said Sean Cavanaugh, Task Force Chair, Aledade’s chief policy officer and head of the Aledade Policy Institute. “This resource is a key tool for organizations preparing for value-based contracting negotiations to support the successful implementation of value-based specialty care.”
The Playbook builds on our Specialty Landscape Paper and draws on expertise from across the field. To explore real-world examples of specialty value-based care, check out our case study series.