Primary Care Makes Strides in Improving Quality and Costs

On October 7, CMS announced promising results of the first shared savings performance year for the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) initiative. In 2014, CPC practices showed positive quality results, with hospital readmissions lower than national benchmarks and high performance on patient experience measures, particularly on provider communication with patients and timely access to care. CPC practices that demonstrated high quality care and reduced spending above a threshold shared in savings generated for Medicare.

During this first shared savings performance year, the initiative decreased Medicare Part A and Part B spending compared to spending targets while achieving high quality outcomes. The CPC initiative generated a total of $24 million in gross savings overall (excluding the CPC care management fees). These results reflect the work of 483 practices that served approximately 377,000 people with Medicare and more than 2.7 million patients overall.

See full text of this excerpted CMS blog (issued October 7).