Rhode Island

Rhode Island has a long history and continued commitment to using the PCMH as the foundation for all health care improvement efforts in the State. In 1999, the Rhode Island Chronic Care Collaborative grew out of a partnering of the Rhode Island Department of Health Diabetes Prevention & Control Program and the Thundermist Health Center in the Bureau of Primary Health Care Health Disparities Collaborative for diabetes. Between 2000 and 2002 the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program created an in state collaborative with the addition of ten community health centers and one hospital-based practice. In 2003 the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program and Quality Partners of Rhode Island (now Healthcentric Advisors) received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Improving Chronic Illness Care program to train physician practice teams based on the Bureau’s Collaborative model. 

Launched in 2008 by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner, the R.I. Chronic Care Sustainability Initiative (CSI-RI) brings together key health care stakeholders to promote care for patients with chronic illnesses through the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model. CSI-RI began with five pilot sites in 2008, added eight sites in 2010 and another three sites in October 2012. Currently, over 85,000 Rhode Islanders receive their care from CSI-RI practices. Over the next five years, 20 practices will be added each year, with the goal of providing over 500,000 Rhode Islanders with access to a PCMH. 

In July of 2011, Rhode Island passed 2011 S 770 – Rhode Island All-Payer Patient Centered Medical Home Act of 2011, which directed the Health Insurance Commissioner to create a Patient-Centered Medical Home Collaborative. The Collaborative conisted of various stakeholders including providers, insurers, patients, hospitals, and state agencies, and was required to develop a payment system that mandated all insurers to provide care coordination payments to PCMHs by July of 2012. The Act requires that the care coordination system be in place through at least July of 2016.  

Rhode Island’s State Health Care Innovation Plan builds on the success of all these programs and include ongoing training and payment support for primary care practices transforming to PCMHs, integration of behavioral health in primary care, increased use of ACO's or ACO-like structures to align payment with quality, expanding the use of community health teams for high-risk populations, and continued development of analytic tools that can be leveraged by the State, providers, and payers.

For more detailed information about public programs in Rhode Island, visit the National Academy of State Health Policy.

CHIPRA: 
No
MAPCP: 
Yes
Dual Eligible: 
Yes
2703 Health Home: 
Yes
CPCi: 
No
SIM Awards: 
Yes
PCMH in QHP: 
No
Legislative PCMH Initiative: 
Yes
Private Payer Program: 
Yes
State Facts: 
Population:
1,048,300
Uninsured Population:
9%
Total Medicaid Spending FY 2013: 
$1.9 Billion 
Overweight/Obese Adults:
64.6%
Poor Mental Health among Adults: 
35.3%
Medicaid Expansion: 
Yes 
CPC+: 
CPC+

Ch. 42-14.5

Authorizes Insurance Commissioner to set minimum PC spending target for state-regulated insurers; engage in practice transformation activities, as part of promoting Affordability Standards

Safest States During COVID-19

WalletHub study

As the U.S. continues its efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic amid a surge in cases caused by variant strains, staying safe is one of Americans’ top concerns. Safety is also essential for getting the economy back on track, as the lower COVID-19 transmission and deaths are in a state, the fewer restrictions there will be and the more confidence people will have to shop in person. While almost all states have fully reopened, we’ll only be able to completely get back to life as normal once most of the population is fully vaccinated against coronavirus. The good news is that the U.S.

News Author: 
Adam McCann

New England States Issue Regional PC Spend Report

A consortium of New England States, known as NESCSO, recently released a first-of-its-kind regional report on levels of primary care investment across six states.

National Meeting on Increasing Investment in Primary Care

FMAHealth in collaboration with the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) sponsored, the first national conversation on increasing investment in primary care on November 9, 2018. The workshop followed the PCPCC’s Annual Conference where a broad audience was educated about the importance of increased investment in primary care. Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, spoke about the importance of primary care and ways in which CMMI would be moving forward with alternative primary care payment models.

Primary Care Investments Are Top of Mind for Many New England States

Representatives from state agencies in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont met earlier this month to hear and discuss reports from multi-state workgroups related to Certificate of Need reform and hospital regulatory issues,  improving the value of community benefits reports, data-sharing opportunites, and primary care investments.

News Author: 
Primary Care Spend

PCPCC Executive Member Workshop: Investing in Primary Care – Advancing a National Strategy

2018-11-09 08:00
Immediately following the Annual Conference, PCPCC will host a workshop to raise the visibility and build the case for increasing the investment in primary care in states and nationally to improve health care quality and affordability. Primary care typically makes up a relatively low proportion – approximately 5-8 percent of total health care spending in the U.S.  Outside of the primary care community, policy leaders are generally uninformed about the level of under-investment in primary care.
Announcement Type: 

For Delaware's primary care doctors, exciting times are ahead

Despite spending more per capita on health care than all but two states and ranking 30th in America’s Health Rankings, Delaware only spends 3 to 4 percent on primary care services — half the national average. States such as Oregon and Rhode Island have shown that increasing primary care spending to 10 to 12 percent or more improves health outcomes and decreases overall health care spending.

Since many other practice transformation measures hang in the balance, I would hope the Collaborative considers primary care spending its top priority.  

News Author: 
Adrian Wilson

Rhode Island Comprehensive Primary Care Plus

The state of Rhode Island agreed to implement the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model in 31 practices statewide. Rhode Island  were selected as one of 18 regions nationwide to participate in Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+).

Primary care is a home run for both sides of the aisle

In 2008, Billy Beane, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and former Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) argued in the New York Times that health care in the United States was overpriced and underperforming. A bipartisan policy has emerged to address this problem — focus on paying for value not volume, with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act as the latest manifestation of this strategy.

News Author: 
Evan Saulino

From volume to value: Primary care delivers

Innovative payment models are changing the way healthcare is paid for and delivered in the United States—for the better. The transition to a value-based healthcare system, one where physicians, other health professionals, and health systems are rewarded for high-quality services that improve patient outcomes, is underway. Evidence shows that primary care can help us live longer, healthier lives and can save our healthcare system $13 for every $1 spent.

News Author: 
Glen Strean
John Rother

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