New CMMI Models Announced to Support Primary Care for People with Complex Chronic Illness

4/24/19  |  aahcm.org

The American Academy of Home Care Medicine (AAHCM) is pleased to share initial details on two new Alternative Payment Models (APMs) that promote primary care of Medicare beneficiaries with complex, advanced illness. The high-level outlines of these new APMs were announced on April 22 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). The Academy’s media statement is available here. These APMs are part of a new CMS Primary Cares Initiative and will offer a choice of two new payment paths. The new payment demonstrations are meant to promote value-based care, with a voluntary shift of up to 25 percent of primary care Medicare fee-for-service patients to these new models. This e-alert summarizes the information CMS has released to date about the models.  Several important details, such as exact payment amounts and patient eligibility criteria, remain to be announced. We will issue additional alerts to Academy members as soon as information is made available in the coming weeks.

Overview

The two new options, Primary Care First (PCF) and Direct Contracting (DC), will offer enhanced payment for home care medicine and other providers to provide primary care for people with advanced illness. The Academy, along with others, has worked closely with CMMI to develop this new payment model, with a focus on relevant quality measures for people with advanced illness and use of outcome-based payment methods.  Many core principles of the successful Independence at Home (IAH) Demonstration are included in Primary Care First. Home care medicine providers and policymakers have learned much from IAH, thanks to the foresight of our champions on Capitol Hill and the CMS leadership.  Read the full article