Dr. Howard Haft, deputy secretary for public health, on Monday came to MHA's Elkridge offices to present to hospital leaders an overview of the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene's Maryland Comprehensive Primary Care Model. Earlier this year, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation charged the state with the development of a primary care model, emphasizing its importance to care transformation. Hospital leaders will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the model once a draft concept paper is released. The DHMH model is based on additional Medicare Part B funding from the federal government, revenue that will be used to fund care management resources and infrastructure for primary care physicians. The model is designed to complement other state delivery system transformation activities and meet the requirements for an advanced alternative payment model under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). The model also aims to sustain the early gains of the state's All-Payer Model and support continued reduction in unnecessary utilization and improved patient outcomes through advanced primary care access and prevention. MHA will provide additional details as they become available.

 

Contact: Nicole Stallings

The fifth of seven webinars with HSCRC staff to provide hospitals with detailed information on the amendment to the All-Payer Model and on care redesign programs is Wednesday, November 30; the schedule for the remain webinars is below. The amendment, approved earlier this month:

 

Under the amendment, the first two care redesign programs are:

 

The remaining webinars are:

 

During each webinar, participants can ask questions of HSCRC, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, MHA, and CRISP. Click here to find the registration links for each webinar and the recordings of previous webinars.

 

For many hospitals, attending these webinars will culminate with the signing of a letter of intent - a nonbinding agreement submitted to the HSCRC that indicates interest in participating in one or both of the care redesign programs (Hospital Care Improvement Program and Complex and Chronic Care Improvement Program; details at the top of this page). Please note that the deadline to submit the letter of intent is today, November 18. Click here for the letter of intent template. In addition, should you submit a letter of intent to the HSCRC, please copy Pat Ross at MHA so we can tabulate the field's participation in the care redesign programs. If you have any questions, contact Nicole Stallings.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced last week that the Part A deductible for inpatient hospital services will increase by $28 in calendar year 2017, to $1,316. The Part A daily coinsurance amounts will be $329 for days 61-90 of hospitalization in a benefit period; $658 for lifetime reserve days; and $164.50 for days 21-100 of extended care services in a skilled nursing facility in a benefit period. The monthly Part A premium, paid by beneficiaries who have fewer than 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment and certain people with disabilities, will increase by $2 in calendar year 2017, to $413. Most people with Medicare Part B will not see an increase in their monthly premium in calendar year 2017 due to a statutory "hold harmless" provision. For about 30 percent of beneficiaries, the standard Part B premium will increase by about $12 to $134, CMS said.