Request for Information on a Potential Pediatric Alternative Payment Model
By Patrick Conway, M.D., M.Sc., Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Deidre Gifford, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Director, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services; Ellen-Marie Whelan, N.P., Ph.D., Chief Population Health Officer, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services; and Alex Billioux, M.D., D.Phil., Director, Division of Population Health Incentives and Infrastructure, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation
Twitter: @CMSgov
In partnership with states and providers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plays a leading role in safeguarding the health of America’s future by providing coverage for more than one in three American children¹. Through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program’s (CHIP) mandatory and optional benefits, children receive access to a spectrum of comprehensive and preventive health care services aimed at providing a sound start for lifelong health. As a result, children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP lead the nation in participation in preventive care and access to needed care².
CMS and states have also demonstrated consistent commitment to improving the health of children through care redesign and innovation in programs such as Medicaid Health Homes, the Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program, and models tested under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center), including the State Innovation Models Initiative and Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative. To build on those efforts, the Innovation Center, in partnership with the Center for Medicaid and Chip Services (CMCS), is releasing a Request for Information (RFI) today seeking input on the design of alternative payment models focused on improving the health of children and youth covered by Medicaid and CHIP. As the insurer of a third of the nation’s children and a leader in health care innovation, CMS is uniquely positioned to improve the health of America’s children.
We know there is more to health than health care alone, and for children, factors such as sound nutrition, safe living environments, responsive adult caregivers, and nurturing social relationships are especially critical for healthy growth and development. Inadequate or inconsistent access to these factors can have physical and behavioral impacts that reverberate throughout a child’s life course as he or she grows into adulthood. Some children and youth enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, especially those that are high-need and high-risk, may experience barriers to accessing the optimal combination of child-focused programs and services that are available to address these critical factors. Through the RFI, we are seeking input on approaches to improve the quality and reduce the cost of care for children and youth enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. In particular, we are exploring concepts that encourage pediatric providers to collaborate with health-related social service providers (e.g., early childhood development programs, child welfare services, and home and community based service providers) at the state and local levels and share accountability for health outcomes for children and youth enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
CMS seeks input through the RFI from the broad community of child and youth-focused stakeholders on concepts critical to addressing the comprehensive health needs of children and youth, such as:
- Opportunities and impediments to extending and enhancing integrated service model concepts like accountable care organizations (ACOs) to the pediatric population;
- Flexibilities and supports states and providers may need in order to offer such models of care to a state’s pediatric population; and
- Approaches for states and providers to coordinate Medicaid and CHIP benefits and waivers with other health-related social services for children and youth.
Investing in child health can provide lifelong benefits and improve the nation’s health. We look forward to front-end comments from our state partners and other stakeholders who share our dedication to improving the health of our nation’s children.
For more information on the RFI, please visit the CMS website. To be assured consideration, RFI comments must be received by March 28, 2017.
¹ Department of Health and Human Services. 2015 Annual Report on the Quality of Care for Children in Medicaid and CHIP. February, 2016.
² See CHIPRA Mandated Evaluation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program: Final Findings; Kreider AR, French B, Aysola J, Saloner B, Noonan KG, Rubin DM. Quality of Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for Children in Low-Income Families. JAMA Pediatr. 2016;170(1):43-51. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.3028
This article was originally published on The CMS Blog and is republished here with permission.