PCC Applauds CMS/CMS Innovation Center for Taking Steps to Strengthen Primary Care in Medicare
New Model Shows Agency Understands Urgent Need to Improve Beneficiary Health by Bolstering Primary Care
Washington, D.C. (March 19, 2024) – The Primary Care Collaborative (PCC) applauds the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CMS Innovation Center for taking substantive steps to strengthen primary care to deliver better outcomes by announcing a hybrid payment model under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP).
The announcement comes less than a year after PCC’s Better Health – NOW mobilized more than two dozen stakeholder organizations in support of CMS and the Innovation Center implementing hybrid payment models (mix of prospective and fee for service) to encourage primary care participation in MSSP and develop primary care led accountable care organizations. NASEM’s 2021 report underscored the evidence related to hybrid payment.
“Primary care is the foundation of an equitable, effective health care system,” said Ann Greiner, President and CEO of the PCC. “Today, CMS and the CMS Innovation Center demonstrated they understand the urgent need to reinforce that foundation.
“We’re also encouraged to see that this model centers equity by promoting participation by rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers, puts guard rails in place to ensure payments reach primary care practices and benefits beneficiaries by giving clinicians a prospective payment that allows them to deliver more flexible, comprehensive care. We’re eager to learn more about this model and its potential to lower costs and improve beneficiary outcomes.”
Dr. Liz Fowler, Director of CMS Innovation Center, will provide additional details about the new model in a presentation and Q&A with PCC President and CEO Ann Greiner during a PCC webinar earlier today. The webinar also featured thoughts and reactions from leaders at the National Association of Community Health Centers, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations and the National Partnership for Women and Families.
Registration for the webinar is open here.
About the Primary Care Collaborative
Founded in 2007, PCC is a multistakeholder organization dedicated to advancing an effective and efficient health system built on a strong foundation of primary care. Representing a broad coalition that includes patient and consumer advocacy groups, health care clinics, professional societies, payers, leading corporations and other health care stakeholders, the PCC’s mission is to unify and engage diverse stakeholders in promoting policies and sharing best practices that support the growth of high-performing primary care to achieve the “Quintuple Aim”: better care, better health, lower costs, greater joy for clinicians and staff, and greater health equity.
