Thanks to
the Affordable Care Act , 20 community health centers in
Missouri will receive funding
over three years to improve the coordination and quality of care
they deliver to people with Medicare and other patients, the
Department of Health and Human Services announced today.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Five hundred community health centers in 44 states across the country will receive approximately $42 million over three years. The St. Louis area health centers receiving the funding include Family Care Health Centers, People’s Health Centers and Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Centers.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”> “Health centers are integral parts of our communities,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Dr. Donald M. Berwick. “This initiative will give participating health centers the help they need to improve care for many people with Medicare who rely on them as their main source of care.”
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Health centers improve the health of the nation and assure access to quality primary health care services at more than 8,100 service delivery sites around the country. They are also an integral source of local employment and economic growth in many underserved and low-income communities.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2009, health centers across the country have added more than 18,600 new full-time positions in many of the nation’s most economically distressed communities.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In 2010, they employed more than 131,000 staff and new funds, made available by the ACA in September, will help create thousands more jobs nationwide.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Under the Advanced Primary Care Practice demonstration, created by the “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>ACA, Medicare will pay community health centers based on the quality of care they deliver. This improved payment system will reward clinics for such things as helping patients manage chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In addition, health centers will use this funding to expand their hours, make same day appointments and accommodate patients with urgent care needs.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”> “When patients are able to use a health center as their primary source of care, it helps primary care doctors, nurses and specialists coordinate their care,” said Dr. Berwick. “Health centers will also use health care dollars more wisely as patients receive the right tests, right medications and right treatments in the right setting.”
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Advanced Primary Care Practice demonstration will be conducted from November 1, 2011 through October 31, 2014. Participating health centers will be paid a monthly fee for each eligible person with Medicare that receives primary care services. The CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) will provide technical assistance to help participating community health centers throughout the demonstration.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The lessons learned from this demonstration project will help all community health centers improve on their long–standing commitment to providing high quality, patient-centered primary care,” said Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, PhD., R.N. “This program will help strengthen the relationship between the more than 8,100 health center sites HRSA helps fund and the communities they serve.”
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>To study the process and challenges involved in transforming community health centers into advanced primary care practices, the Innovation Center will conduct an independent evaluation of the demonstration. The evaluation will assess the project’s impact on hospital admission rates, emergency department visits rates, access, quality and cost of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The evaluation will also assess whether the demonstration was cost-effective.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>This Advanced Primary Care Practice demonstration is operated by the Innovation Center in partnership with HRSA. It is one of a number of initiatives made possible by the Affordable Care Act.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Another initiative, the HRSA Health Center Quality Improvement and Patient Centered Medical Home Supplemental Funding initiative, is providing 904 community health centers nationwide new support to provide care coordination services to patients including care planning and efforts to help doctors work together to deliver better care for patients.
“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>More information on the Advanced Primary Care Practice demonstration project, including a fact sheet, and a list of participating health centers can be found at: “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>
“color: black;”>http://innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/fqhc/