Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model

The Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model aims to improve the lives of people living with rare and severe diseases by increasing access to potentially transformative treatments. In July 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Rhode Island and 32 other states will be participating in the model, and that Rhode Island is one of only seven states also receiving CGT Access Model Cooperative Agreement Funding. The initial focus of the model is on access to gene therapy treatments for people living with sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder. 

Cell and gene therapies can transform the lives of people living with rare and severe diseases that are hard to treat, but gaining access to these potentially life-changing treatments is difficult because they can cost millions of dollars. The CGT Access Model supports outcomes-based agreements between states and manufacturers that will provide treatments within a framework that lowers prices for states and ties payment to outcomes.

What is Sickle Cell Disease?

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. There are several types of SCD. People with SCD inherit genes that contain instructions, or code, for abnormal hemoglobin. Click here to learn more from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.