Value-Based Primary Care Pilot Progam

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) aims to advance value-based primary care, especially in rural areas and among underserved populations, with a new pilot project.

The agency announced Thursday a new primary care model will be tested under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina and Washington starting next summer.

The Making Care Primary Model will focus on primary care organizations with limited experience in alternative payment models to help set up the infrastructure, particularly safety net and smaller or independent primary care organizations, CMS officials said in a press release.

The model will kick off July 2024 and participants, which include federally qualified health centers, Indian Health Service facilities and tribal clinics, will receive enhanced payments to shift from fee-for-service payment models and to better coordinate care.

The model seeks to improve care for patients by expanding and enhancing care management and care coordination, equipping primary care clinicians with tools to form partnerships with health care specialists, and leveraging community-based connections to address patients’ health needs as well as their health-related social needs.

The pilot program will create a pathway for primary care organizations and practices—especially small, independent, rural, and safety net organizations—to enter into value-based care arrangements.