On April 22, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) held a public event to unveil the CMS Primary Cares Initiative.
During the event, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, CMS Administrator Seema Verma, and CMMI Director Adam Boehler spoke forcefully about the importance of greater investment in primary care. At the event, CMS announced five new payment models under two paths: Primary Care First (PCF) and Direct Contracting (DC).
The announcement of the CMS Primary Cares Initiative brings to a close nearly three years of work on the part of the AAFP to develop and implement a primary care alternative payment model. The Primary Care First program strongly resembles and reflects the core elements of the AAFP’s Advanced Primary Care Alternative Payment Model. While not perfect, this announcement is an important step forward in value-based payment for primary care. One notable gap is that the model isn’t available to all family physicians. Expanding the number of participating states will be a priority for the AAFP moving forward.
- Video of the CMS Primary Care Initiative launch
- CMS Primary Cares Initiative press release
- Primary Care First press release
- Direct Contracting press release
- Direct Contracting – Geographic RFI.