Wednesday, June 8, 2011

New Demo to Coordinate Care

The “Federally Qualified Health Center Advanced Primary Care Practice” (FQHC-APCP) demonstration project will pay an estimated $42 million over three years to up to 500 FQHCs to coordinate care for nearly 200,000 Medicare patients. The new demonstration will be operated by CMS in partnership with HRSA and will test the effectiveness of doctors and other health professionals working in teams to improve care.

The demonstration will show how the patient-centered medical home model can improve quality of care, promote better health, and lower costs. Participating FQHCs must implement EHRs, and help patients manage chronic conditions, as well as actively coordinate care for patients.

To help participating FQHCs make investments in patient care and infrastructure, they will be paid a monthly care management free for each eligible Medicare beneficiary receiving primary care services.

The recruitment period began on June 6, 2011 and applications for the demonstration will be accepted until August 12, 2011. The demonstration will be conducted from 9/1/11 until 8/31/14. For details go to www.cms.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD or to the CMS Innovation Center web site at http://innovations.cms.gov.