For MA plans, D-SNPs, and new entrants
Your MA network has a filing date. It doesn't move.
A new plan year, a service-area expansion, or a D-SNP standing up: the network has to clear CMS adequacy on the first submission, and every week of contracting slippage comes out of the runway.
No pitch. If it fits, the next step is a two-week diagnostic: fixed fee, no commitment past it.
Where it usually breaks
Sound familiar?
- HSD tables come back short in a handful of stubborn counties
- Specialty and behavioral health gaps you can't recruit out of quickly
- Credentialing running past the go-live date
- D-SNP integration requirements landing on top of everything else
What we take off your plate
One team for the whole build.
- Adequacy modeling to CMS criteria
- Time-and-distance and minimum-provider analysis by county type, before you file.
- Targeted recruitment & contracting
- The specific providers that close your gaps, from outreach to countersignature.
- Credentialing on the critical path
- PSV and committee dates sequenced so signed providers are payable at launch.
- HSD tables & exception requests
- Submission-ready tables, plus defensible justifications where the market can't supply.
The plan
Three steps, with dates.
- 1
Diagnose
Two weeks to a gap map and an honest read on the filing date.
- 2
Build
Contracting and credentialing in parallel against a live tracker.
- 3
Hand back
Go-live, then a running cadence your team owns.
What success looks like
- Adequacy met at first submission
- Providers credentialed and payable on day one
- A network that still passes after normal attrition
Not sure where your build stands?
Eight questions, two minutes. See your weak spots and what we'd fix first. No email required.
From our playbook
Read these before you file.
- Regulatory · 7 min readThe CMS application calendar every new MA entrant needs to knowThe Medicare Advantage application cycle runs on a fixed annual calendar, and network adequacy documentation is always the last thing ready.Read it
- Regulatory · 8 min readHow CMS actually measures time and distanceMost people have a general sense of time-and-distance standards. The specifics are where plans get surprised — especially on specialty thresholds and driving-vs.-straight-line methodology.Read it
- Regulatory · 8 min readWhat CMS actually looks for in a network adequacy filingThe mechanics of a CMS network adequacy submission — what goes in, what reviewers flag, and what triggers an RFI.Read it
- Regulatory · 8 min readWhen you can't meet adequacy: CMS exceptions, explainedA CMS network adequacy exception is a last resort, not a strategy. Learn when CMS grants one, how to document a request, and why to build first.Read it
- Playbook · 9 min readBuilding a first-year MA plan's networkFirst-year Medicare Advantage applications are the most time-constrained builds in this business. The CMS timeline leaves less room than most organizations expect.Read it
- Regulatory · 9 min readD-SNP integration: SMACs, EAEs, and what changedCMS is pushing D-SNPs toward tighter Medicaid integration. Understand SMACs, Exclusively Aligned Enrollment, applicable integrated plans, and network impact.Read it
- Regulatory · 13 min readWhat the CMS 2026 MA Final Rule Means for Your NetworkThe CMS 2026 MA final rule finalized provider directory and Medicare Plan Finder rules while deferring behavioral health and network adequacy changes.Read it
- Regulatory · 14 min readNetwork Design for C-SNPs and I-SNPsHow to design provider networks for C-SNPs and I-SNPs: specialist mix, institutional facilities, model of care, and CMS adequacy for special needs plans.Read it
Talk to the founder
I've watched a lot of builds go quiet around week six. Usually it isn't strategy. It's that nobody owns the hard middle. Tell me where yours is stuck and I'll tell you straight whether we can help, and what I'd do first.
Dave Smith
Founder, Kearny Street Management
Building provider networks since 2002, for payers and for providers.
A 20-minute call. No pitch and no slides, just a straight read on where your build stands.