government
CMS launches $42 million primary care center demo
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 7, 2011
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has selected 500 federally qualified health centers to receive $42 million for a three-year advanced primary care practice demonstration project.
The project is expected to help 200,000 Medicare patients receive higher-quality, coordinated care. Participating centers will receive monthly care management fees of $6 for each eligible Medicare patient, CMS said. The fees are directed to defray the cost of transforming the centers to patient-centered, coordinated and seamless primary care practices. Facilities also will expand hours, increase the availability of same-day appointments and accommodate urgent care needs.
"The goal of this demonstration is to help patients get the care they need in a primary care setting rather than in an emergency department," CMS Administrator Donald M. Berwick, MD, said. "When patients are able to use a health center as their primary source of care, it helps primary care doctors, nurses and specialists coordinate care."
The project was created by the health system reform law. A list of the 500 centers has been posted on the CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation website (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/11/07/gvbf1107.htm.