New Publications from the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative Focus on Payment Models
<p>Two new issue briefs exploring ways to pay for medical home services were recently published by the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative, a Commonwealth Fund–supported demonstration project to help 65 community health centers in five states transform themselves into patient-centered medical homes.</p>
<p>Operating a medical home requires activities that are traditionally not reimbursable. These include care team meetings, patient education on care self-management, and coordination of patient services. To incentivize high-value primary care and support medical home costs, payment reform is needed.</p>
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<a href="http://www.qhmedicalhome.org/safety-net/upload/SNMHI_PolicyBrief_Issue1… for the Medical Home: Payment Models to Support Patient-Centered Medical Home Transformation in the Safety Net</a> describes 10 models for medical home payment, as well as recommendations on how community health centers can prepare for payment methods that are not strictly fee-for-service.</p>
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<a href="http://www.qhmedicalhome.org/safety-net/upload/SNMHI_PolicyBrief_Issue2… Reform and the Patient-Centered Medical Home: Policy Provisions and Expectations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act</a> provides an overview of the Affordable Care Act and looks at how that law supports safety-net clinics to become patient-centered medical homes.</p>
<p>Launched in April 2008, the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative is led by the Seattle-based quality improvement organization Qualis Health, which works closely with the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation to support health centers' efforts to become medical homes. The initiative also aims to promote policy options that will ensure the model is sustained and spread throughout each state. For more on the initiative, visit <a href="/Content/Resources/2010/The-Safety-Net-Medical-Home-Initiative.aspx">http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Resources/2010/The-Safety-Net-M…;. <br /></p>