HHS doles out $665M to states for healthcare innovation projects
Program will support plans that improve quality and lower costs through new value-based reimbursement, hiring and other new ideas.
"We're seeing states do some very innovative things when it comes to improving the ways we deliver care, pay providers and distribute information."
More than $665 million will be distributed to states around the country to test new service and payment models, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday.
The money, provided by the Affordable Care Act, will be spread among 28 states, Washington D.C. and three U.S. territories.
The State Innovation Models program will support comprehensive state plans that improve quality and lower costs. For example, the money could fund patient-centered medical homes that treat both physical and mental health, or can be used to pay for state data or technical support that helps providers and payers that are changing their reimbursement models to value-based systems.
Other possible initiatives include creating quality scorecards that help providers and payers to align their value benchmarks, expanding health systems information technology or hiring and staff education initiatives.
The awards are broken into two categories. More than $622 million will be spread across states that will test actual innovation initiatives: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington. The remaining 17 states, Washington D.C. and three territories will split $43 million to support them in crafting plans for initiatives they will later test.
“We're seeing states do some very innovative things when it comes to improving the ways we deliver care, pay providers and distribute information,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell in a statement. “These funds will support states in integrating and coordinating the many elements of healthcare – including Medicaid, Medicare, public health and private healthcare delivery systems – to the benefit of patients, businesses and taxpayers alike."
HHS said Affordable Care Act initiatives have reduced hospital readmissions by 8 percent and has saved $12 billion in health spending from 2010 to 2013.
