CMS’ efforts to improve the delivery of primary health care moved into new territory this week when the agency announced a new five-year delivery model, Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+), which CMS’ chief medical officer described as “the future of health care.” CMC+ will launch in January 2017, and evolves from the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative that CMS began in 2013. The announcement of CMS+ comes on the heels of CMS’ March 2016 announcement that it met, ahead of schedule, its goal of tying 30% of Medicare payments to quality-and-value-based alternative payment models by 2016. CMS’ new goal is to make 50% of Medicare payments via alternative payment models by 2018.

CPC+ is CMS’ largest ever such model, and is expected to be implemented in up to 20 regions accommodating 20,000 physicians and clinicians and the 25 million people they serve. Under CMC+, Medicare will partner with commercial insurance plans and state Medicaid agencies to support delivery of advanced primary care by primary care practices (PCP).

PCPs participating in CPC+ will proceed along one of two tracks. Track 1 PCPs must help patients with serious or chronic diseases meet their health goals, give patients 24-hour access to care and health information, deliver preventive care, involve patients and their families in patient care, and work with other health care partners to deliver coordinated health care. Track 2 PCPs must, in addition to these services, provide patients who have complex medical and behavioral health needs with more comprehensive services, which may include systemic assessment of their psychosocial needs and an inventory of resources and supports to meet these needs.

Track 1 PCPs will receive a monthly care management fee in addition to fee-of-service payments under the Medicaid Physician Fee Schedule. Track 2 participants will receive an on-average higher monthly care management fee and a hybrid of reduced Medicaid fee-for-service payments and up-front comprehensive primary care payments. The hybrid payments are intended to give providers freedom to find ways to deliver health care outside of traditional person-to-person encounters.
CMS is soliciting payer proposals to partner with Medicare in CPC+ through June 1, 2016, after which it will identify regions in which PCP+ will be implemented. The geographic reach of selected providers will be a factor in determining the choice of the CPC+ regions. From July 15 to September 1, 2016, CMS will publish the CPC+ regions and solicit applications from practices in these regions. Practices will apply directly for the preferred track, however applicants for the more remunerative Track 2 must include in their application a letter of support from their Health IT vendor that discusses the vendor’s commitment to support the PCP with advanced Health IT capabilities.

[Sources: CMS launches largest-ever multi-payer initiative to improve primary care in America; Comprehensive Primary Care Plus; and Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network, all from CMS.gov.]