Evaluation of the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

CMS selected 7 regions (states or substate areas) to include in this study, based on commitment of other (ie, nonMedicare) payers in the area to provide financial resources to participating practices to support practice transformation to improve quality of care, reduce costs, and improve population health. 497 practices were selected from roughly 1000 applicants in the 7 regions to participate in the study. CMS pays participating practices a per member per month care management fee for each Medicare patient attributed to the practice. The practices also receive quarterly feedback on trends in their Medicare patients' use of hospital and emergency room services, Medicare expenditures, and patient outcomes from periodic surveys. Practices are expected to improve patient outcomes and lower Medicare costs per patient by using the additional resources to improve: risk-stratified care management, access and continuity of care, planned chronic and preventive care, patient and caregiver engagement, and coordination across the medical neighborhood. To remain in the study, practices must meet annual milestones for meaningful use of electronic health records and other practice features. The intervention period, which began in Fall 2012, will continue for 4 years.