THINC commends payers selected to participate in Comprehensive Primary Care initiative

THINC's Susan Stuard reiterates support for multi-payer effort to transform primary care

FISHKILL, N.Y., June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Comprehensive Primary Care initiative is one step closer to helping practices deliver more comprehensive, coordinated primary care. Today, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced memorandums of understanding with six payers in the Capital District-Hudson Valley Region.

The CPC initiative, or CPCi, is a groundbreaking effort to align payers. Participating payers -- public and private -- will reimburse medical practices for comprehensive primary care. The effort to advance more effective, more affordable, higher quality health care aligns closely with efforts already underway in the Hudson Valley.

New York's Capital District-Hudson Valley Region (Albany, Columbia, Duchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schenectady, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties) was one of only seven markets selected from around the country to participate in this multi-payer effort. Within this market, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services entered into memorandums of understanding with the following payers:

• Aetna
• Capital District Physicians' Health Plan
• Empire Blue Cross
• Hudson Health Plan
• MVP Health Care
• Teamsters Multi-Employer Taft Hartley Funds

Nationally, 45 commercial, federal and state insurers in seven markets have agreed to participate.

Next, approximately 75 primary care practices from each market will be selected to participate. Primary care practices must agree to provide enhanced services for their patients, including offering longer and more flexible hours, using electronic health records; delivering preventive care; coordinating care with patients' other health care providers; engaging patients and caregivers in managing their own care, and providing individualized, enhanced care for patients living with multiple chronic diseases and higher needs. To learn more about the CPC initiative, see the CMMI announcement here.

Taconic Health Information Network and Community (THINC) has been involved in this effort since its inception, working with IBM (one of the Hudson Valley's largest employers) to build on an already-strong history of multi-stakeholder collaboration. Today's announcement confirms the commitment of these payers to health system transformation.

"These plans should be recognized for their very significant commitments to this important project and to New York. Not only are the health plans providing additional funding to support transformation of primary care, they are also committing valuable staff and data resources to support this project over four years," said Susan Stuard, THINC's executive director. "Their willingness to collaborate with one another and with the primary care providers in their community should be commended.

"We also want to again thank CMMI for their leadership in advancing primary care transformation and striving for better health, better care and decreased total health costs. New York State Medicaid should also be recognized as a key stakeholder that has been supportive of the CPCi from the outset and has been an active ongoing participant.

"This initiative benefits all stakeholders. The health plans will work together and with providers to measure and improve quality of care for patients. With the CPCi, primary care physicians have the financial and technical support they need, and patients benefit from access to coordinated, data-driven care," Stuard concluded.

"Ultimately it comes down to patient-centered care," said Kyu Rhee, M.D., vice president, integrated health services, IBM. "It is important to give physicians and their teams the tools, data and analytics to better integrate and coordinate care and improve the healing relationship between patients and their doctors. Such multi-stakeholders are essential. Payers must be involved if we are to achieve care that is continuous and collaborative."

About THINC
THINC is dedicated to improving the quality, safety and efficiency of health care for the benefit of the people of the Hudson Valley region of New York. The primary purpose of THINC is to advance the use of health IT through the sponsorship of a secure health information exchange network, the adoption and use of interoperable EHRs and the implementation of population health improvement activities. These activities include public health surveillance and reporting, pay for performance, patient-centered medical home practice transformation, care coordination activities, public reporting and other quality improvement initiatives. For more information, go to www.THINC.org. THINC is part of the Hudson Valley Initiative, an effort to revolutionize health care delivery through a shared vision to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care in the community.

SOURCE THINC