Payment Reform Strengthens Patient-Centered Medical Home

The health payer industry and the federal government including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have positioned hospitals, clinics, and medical practices to adopt necessary healthcare payment reform. Alongside accountable care organizations, bundled payments, and value-based care reimbursement, the patient-centered medical home stands as a real boon to healthcare payment reform.

The patient-centered medical home has transformed physician reimbursement and shown to decrease medical costs while improving the quality of patient care. The Primary Care Development Corporation announced in a press release that it has assisted 200 primary care practices toward obtaining the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) patient-centered medical home (PCMH) recognition.

Quality care incentives through Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers are making headway among providers committed to healthcare payment reform. The patient-centered medical home concept is a model in which physicians work to coordinate high-quality care and ensure greater patient satisfaction. These type of models of care are seen as a clear pathway toward receiving financial incentives from public and private payers.

In the state of New York, the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program (DSRIP) requires all patient-centered medical home models to obtain the highest level of recognition, according to the release. Currently, the Primary Care Development Corporation is helping a number of medical homes achieve this status.