CMS Picks Arkansas for CPC+ Model; Practices Can Apply Through Sept. 15

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week that Arkansas has been selected as one of 14 regions nationwide where primary care practices can participate in a new five-year multi-payer payment model called Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+). The model will launch in January. Practices that serve Medicare patients (ages 65-plus) can apply through Sept. 15 for the public-private partnership program. According to CMS, with CPC+, Medicare, state Medicaid agencies and private insurance companies partner to support primary care practices, moving the health care system away from a one-size-fits-all, fee-for-service model. Dr. Lonnie Robinson of the Regional Family Medicine Clinic in Mountain Home explained that CPC+ rewards physicians for quality of care rather than quantity of care — how many patients they saw in a day — as the old payment model did. Brandi Hinkle, deputy chief of communications for the Arkansas Department of Human Services, described CPC+ as the "second generation" of the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative (CPCi) that was established in late 2012. CPC+ is replacing CPCi. Robinson said his practice didn't make it into the CPCi program because it hadn't yet received a certain certification it has now. He said the purpose of both programs is to "help doctors slow down and take better care of patients and get paid well to provide better quality care." Robinson said his clinic plans to apply for CPC+. Up to 5,000 pr...
Source: Arkansas Business - Health Care - Category: American Health Source Type: news