CMS announces regions for Primary Care Plus demo

Fourteen regions across the United States have been selected to be a part of the 5-year Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) initiative.

CPC+ is a public-private partnership aimed at improving quality of care by provide medical practices with upfront incentive payments to help allow doctors to offer more services that have not traditionally been paid, including detailed care coordination and telemedicine.

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The regions selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services include Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, the greater Kansas City region straddling both Kansas City and Missouri, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, the North Hudson-Capital Region of New York, Ohio (statewide and Northern Kentucky region), Oklahoma, Oregon, the Greater Philadelphia region, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.

Practices in these regions must apply by Sept. 15, 2016.

“Regions were selected based on payer alignment and market density to ensure that CPC+ practices have sufficient payer supports to make fundamental changes in their primary care delivery,” according to a CMS fact sheet announcing the regions. “CMS has provisionally selected to partner with 57 payers in these regions throughout the 5-year model.”

Participants in the CPC+ initiative will get credit for being in an advanced alternative payment model and be eligible for bonus payments under the current proposal that operationalizes the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act’s value-based payment system.

Information on CPC+, including how to apply for participation, can be found here.

gtwachtman@frontlinemedcom.com