Dive Brief:
- The government has divvied up more than $665 million to states for designing and testing ways to improve healthcare quality, accessibility and affordability.
- Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced the awards Dec. 16. They are the second batch of grants HHS offered to find new and innovative ways improve quality and lower costs. The first round came in early 2013. The awards will go to 28 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.
- "We are committed to partnering with states to advance the goals we all share: better care, smarter spending, and, ultimately, healthier people," said Secretary Burwell in a statement. "We're seeing states do some very innovative things when it comes to improving the ways we deliver care, pay providers, and distribute information. These funds will support states in integrating and coordinating the many elements of health care—including Medicaid, Medicare, public health, and private healthcare delivery systems—to the benefit of patients, businesses, and taxpayers alike."
Dive Insight:
HHS is hoping to lure healthcare providers and state regulators to embrace its message of quality and efficiency with appealing financial incentives. And, it could be argued, prizes for doing a great job are definitely more alluring than the prospect of joining a risk-based ACO.
Speaking of which, initiatives such as ACOs and the Partnership for Patients and others have helped reduce hospital readmissions in Medicare by nearly 8% between 2007 and 2013—translating into 150,000 fewer readmissions, according to HHS. Also, quality improvements have resulted in saving 50,000 lives and $12 billion in health spending from 2010 to 2013.
"States are laboratories of innovation and serve as critical partners in transforming healthcare," said Patrick Conway, M.D., CMS deputy administrator for innovation and quality and chief medical officer, in a statement. "States are large healthcare purchasers for their employees and residents, have broad regulatory authority over healthcare providers and payers, have the ability to convene multiple parties to improve statewide health-delivery systems, and oversee public health, social, and educational services. Partnering with states on health innovation has the potential to accelerate and transform health innovation in all of these areas."