MeHAF Awards nearly $600,000 to Drive Reform of Health Care Payment Systems
December 12, 2011
Grants to address system improvements that aim to reduce costs and increase quality of care
The Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) has awarded a total of $598,659 to three Maine organizations to spur robust payment reform projects aimed at improving health and patient experience while reducing per capita costs. These two-year grants will support projects that are intended to transform how health care services are paid for so patients and purchasers can receive maximum value from every health care dollar spent.
“While Maine is nationally recognized for leading systematic and innovative health reform efforts, our high rate of health care spending makes it imperative that we develop innovative payment reform strategies that can improve quality and control costs,” said Dr. Wendy J. Wolf, MeHAF’s President and CEO. At $6,540, Maine’s annual health care spending per person is about $1,250 higher than the national average, plus the steady increase in the state’s annual health care costs have consistently outpaced the national average (7.8% from 1991 – 2004 compared to the US average of 5.5% annually).
Grants have been awarded to:
HealthInfoNet: $198,659. Building on its early success in creating Maine’s statewide health information exchange, which currently includes approximately 900,000 patients and the 32 hospitals that account for 90% of inpatients and emergency department patients, HealthInfoNet will expand and warehouse the clinical data collected by the exchange, integrate clinical data with claims data and further build the capacity among providers for more timely and meaningful data use. Ready access to clinical data and analytic tools will help providers and health systems manage payment reform efforts around the state.
Maine Primary Care Association (MPCA): $200,000. Pursuing new opportunities under the national Affordable Care Act (ACA), MPCA will develop a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) to be offered as a qualified health plan through the state's insurance exchange by the end of 2013. The CO-OP is specifically targeted toward Maine’s small group and individual market to control the health care costs that inhibit business growth and increase access to coverage.
Maine, Department of Health and Human Services, MaineCare: $200,000. As part of its Value-Based Purchasing Strategy, and in partnership with Quality Counts, DHHS will develop and implement a “Medicaid Health Homes” program. The initiative will be delivered through a combination of enhanced primary care and patient centered medical home services, and linked with Community Care Teams to improve care and lower costs for the highest-need MaineCare members. Medicaid will also develop alternative contracting models for providers that participate in the MaineCare Accountable Communities program and will be aligned with other payers and payment reform initiatives in the state.