What is the difference between voluntary and mandatory alignment in APM participation?

• A. Voluntary alignment occurs by choice to join; mandatory alignment requires participation as a condition for incentives.
• B. Mandatory alignment occurs by choice to join; voluntary alignment requires participation as a condition for incentives.
• C. They are the same.
• D. Voluntary alignment is optional.

Answer: (A)

The difference comes down to whether participation is a free choice or a required condition tied to incentives. Voluntary alignment means organizations or providers choose to join and align with the APM on their own, based on perceived benefits. Mandatory alignment means participation is required as a condition to receive incentives or to avoid penalties, so you don’t opt in out of the model—you participate because it’s a prerequisite for payment. In practice, some APMs are opt-in, while others require participation to qualify for rewards, which is why the correct statement describes voluntary alignment as a choice to join and mandatory alignment as a condition for incentives. The other ideas either reverse who makes the choice, claim they’re the same, or oversimplify voluntary as merely optional.