Yesterday CMS released a new program to strengthen primary care:
On June 8, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new voluntary primary care model – the Making Care Primary (MCP) Model – that will be tested in eight states. Launching July 1, 2024, the 10.5-year model will improve care management and care coordination, equip primary care clinicians with tools to form partnerships with health care specialists, and leverage community-based connections to address patients' health needs as well as their health-related social needs (HRSNs) such as housing and nutrition. CMS is working with State Medicaid Agencies in the eight states to engage in full care transformation across payers, with plans to engage private payers in the coming months. CMS will begin accepting applications for the model in late summer 2023.
This plan includes explicit requirements for health equity:
- Some payments will be adjusted by clinical indicators and social risk.
- Participants will be required to develop a strategic plan for how they will identify disparities and reduce them.
- Participants will be required to implement HRSN screening and referrals.
- Participants will be allowed to reduce cost-sharing for patients in need.
- CMS will measure the percentage of patients screened for HRSNs
- CMS will collect data on certain demographic information and HRSNs to evaluate health disparities in MCP communities.
More information at https://innovation.cms.gov/innovation-models/making-care-primary
It is exciting to see CMS/CMMI moving forward on their strategic plan for health equity!
------------------------------
Lloyd Michener, MD
Professor Emeritus, Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, Duke School of Medicine
Adjunct Professor, Public Health Leadership, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
------------------------------