HHS awards $1,500,000 to Hawaii to develop an innovative plan to improve health care quality, accessibility and affordability

News Release from HHS December 16, 2014

Hawaii will receive up to $1,500,000 to design health care payment and service delivery models that will improve health care quality and lower costs, Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia M. Burwell announced today.

Nationwide, 28 states, three territories and the District of Columbia will receive over $665 million in Affordable Care Act funding to design and test health care payment and service delivery models that will improve health care quality and lower costs.  Together with awards released in early 2013 (see below), over half of states (34 states and 3 territories and the District of Columbia), representing nearly two thirds of the population are participating in comprehensive state-based innovation in health system transformation.

"We are committed to partnering with Hawaii to advance the goals we all share: better care, smarter spending, and, ultimately, healthier people," said Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. "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 health care delivery systems – to the benefit of patients, businesses, and taxpayers alike."

State Innovation Model funds will support states in planning or implementing a customized, fully developed proposal capable of creating statewide health transformation.  Examples of such initiatives include:

• Improving primary care through patient centered medical homes, building upon current Accountable Care Organization models or integrating primary care and behavioral health services.
• Providing technical assistance and data to health care providers and payers that are working to advance models of integrated, team-based care, or transition to value-based payment models.
• Creating unified quality measure score cards that health care payers and providers can use to align quality improvement and value based payment methodologies.
• Expanding the adoption of health information technology to improve patient care.
• Fostering partnerships between public, behavioral, and primary health care providers.
• Strengthening the health care workforce through educational programs, inter-professional training, primary care residencies and community health worker training.

Today’s awards include both states that are designing plans and strategies for statewide innovation and states that are taking the next step from designing to testing and implementing comprehensive statewide health transformation plans.

Nearly $43 million in State Innovation Model Design Awards will support 17 states, including Hawaii, three territories, and the District of Columbia to create and refine proposals for comprehensive health care transformation.

More than $622 million in State Innovation Model Test Awards will support eleven states – Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington – in implementing their State Health Care Innovation Plans.  These states join six previous round one Model Test awardees: Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont.

States will engage a broad group of stakeholders including health care providers and systems, long-term service and support providers, commercial payers, state hospital and medical associations, tribal communities and consumer advocacy organizations.  Transformation efforts supported by this initiative must improve health, improve care and lower costs for Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries. In addition, CMS will identify best practices among state-led transformations that are potentially scalable to all states.

The State Innovation Models initiative is one part of an overall effort to help lower costs and improve care through the Affordable Care Act.  Initiatives like Accountable Care Organizations, the Partnership for Patients and others have helped reduce hospital readmissions in Medicare by nearly 8 percent between 2007 and 2013 – translating into 150,000 fewer readmissions – and quality improvements have resulted in saving 50,000 lives and $12 billion in health spending from 2010 to 2013, according to preliminary estimates.

For more information on the awards announced today, please go to: http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/State-Innovations/.

To learn more about other innovative models being tested by the CMS Innovation Center, please visit: innovation.cms.gov .

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HHS providing states with additional flexibility, resources to enhance care

HHS announces 25 states will receive funding to test new models of care that will improve health, lower costs

News Release from HHS February 21, 2013

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the first recipients of State Innovation Model awards made possible by the Affordable Care Act.  Nearly $300 million in awards will provide flexibility and support to states to help them deliver high-quality health care, lower costs, and improve their health system performance. HHS is also releasing a new report titled Medicaid Moving Forward, which underscores the innovative efforts states and HHS have already undertaken to improve care and lower costs in their Medicaid programs.

“As a former governor, I understand the real sense of urgency that states feel to improve the health of their populations while also reducing total health care costs, and it’s critical that the many elements of health care in each state -- including Medicaid, public health, and workforce training -- work together,” Secretary Sebelius said.  “We are encouraged by the progress states have made and look forward to continuing to work with them as they move forward.”

Model Testing awards will support Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont in implementing their plans for health care delivery system transformation. The six selected states will use funds to test multi-payer payment and service delivery models, including approaches already under way at CMS, such as Accountable Care Organizations, on a broader scale within their state. Through the State Innovation Model Testing awards, CMS will learn whether these new models produce greater results when implemented broadly and combined with additional state-wide reforms.

An additional 19 states will receive awards to further develop proposals for comprehensive health care transformation.

“States have taken important steps in partnership with HHS, private payers, Medicaid, CHIP and their public health departments,” said CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “The State Innovation Model awards are designed to bring additional flexibility to states on their path to improving their health care systems.”

The Medicaid Moving Forward report highlights recent initiatives underway to support state efforts to achieve the goals of improving care and lowering costs in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). It outlines specific examples of how states are using these tools to advance their own state initiatives.  This report identifies current opportunities states can take advantage of now.  

For more information on the Medicaid Moving Forward report released today, please go to: http://www.medicaid.gov/State-Resource-Center/Events-and-Announcements/Events-and-Announcements.html.

For more information on the awards announced today, please go to:  http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/State-Innovations/.

To learn more about other innovative models being tested by the CMS Innovation Center, please visit: innovation.cms.gov.  

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