Following a public hearing and a request for feedback, the Home Care Alliance submitted comments on proposed standards for physician practices seeking designation as Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH).
The state’s Health Policy Commission (HPC), created in the state’s Health Care Cost Containment Law, is charged with developing and implementing standards of certification for PCMH in the Commonwealth and will be working to finalize the proposed criteria in the coming months.
The Alliance’s comments promoted the potential of partnerships with home care agencies based on their ability to help physician practices meet some of the proposed standards. The Alliance specifically suggested that PCMH certification require that physician practices meaningfully partner with at least two agencies for the lowest tier of the designation with higher numbers of partnerships in higher tiers. The HPC currently has Basic, Advanced, and Optimal levels of PCMH certification, which may change in name.
The purpose of the certification process is to complement existing local and national care transformation and payment reform efforts, validate value-based care, and promote investments by payers in efficient, high-quality and cost effective primary care.
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