Making Care Primary (MCP) Model to be introduced in eight states to transform nationwide primary care.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Making Care Primary (MCP) Model in June 2023 to the national healthcare system. The model’s goal is to provide better health outcomes to people and their communities.
MCP’s primary initiatives are to ensure that patients receive integrated, coordinated, and person-centered primary care, that pathways are created for primary care practices to enter value-based arrangements, and that health outcomes and quality of care is improved nationally.
The MCP model aims to improve the quality of care for individuals with Medicaid and Medicare, especially for underserved populations and people in rural areas. The organizational goals of MCP are to improve care management and coordination, partner with community-based organizations, assist individuals with management of their health conditions, and encourage primary care clinicians to form relationships with healthcare specialists.
The Making Care Primary Model will be tested under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in eight states. MCP will strengthen the nation’s primary care infrastructure, provide participants with additional revenue to build infrastructure, make primary care services more accessible, and better coordinate care with specialists. These changes will especially benefit small, independent, rural and safety net healthcare organizations.
Through MCP, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are working toward downstream savings over time by implementing better preventative care services that reduce avoidable costs.
Introducing the Making Care Primary model
The MCP model will build upon previous primary care models such as the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC), CPC +, Primary Care First, and the Maryland Primary Care Program (MDPCP) models. MCP will run for 10.5 years from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2034, and will be tested first in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Washington.
These states will be the first to implement the model into their healthcare systems so they can address care priorities specific to their communities. Priorities include care management for chronic conditions, behavioral health services, and health care access for rural residents.
CMS is working with State Medicaid Agencies in each of the eight states to engage in a thorough healthcare transformation across public programs. In the upcoming future, CMS plans to integrate private funding into the structure of the model.
The model includes a progressive three-track approach based on the practice or participant’s experience level with value-based care models and alternative payment methods. Participants in all three tracks will receive enhanced payments, with participants in Track One focusing on building infrastructure to support care transformation. In Tracks Two and Three, the model will include advance payments and offer more opportunities for bonus payments based on participant performance. The system will support clinicians with the transition to value-based care.
Primary Care and the MCP model
A relationship between a patient and their primary care team is essential to an individual’s overall health and well-being. Primary care practitioners provide preventative services, help patients manage chronic conditions, and coordinate care with other clinicians.
Through care integration and increased care management capabilities, primary care physicians will ultimately lower care-related costs. MCP will give teams the resources needed to be better equipped to address the symptoms of chronic diseases. This action aims to lessen the likelihood of emergency department visits and acute care stays nationally.
Through the MCP model, participants will be supported throughout their various levels of experience with value-based care to ensure CMS continues to work to reduce care disparities and drive better patient experience and outcomes.