Small Practices Make Big Gains in Advancing Primary Care.

Primary care practices are the backbone of healthy communities. Yet many small and independent practices, including community health centers, tribal clinics, and rural providers, are operating with limited infrastructure while caring for patients with complex medical and social needs.

Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are poised to support the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) with a total investment of $50 billion over the course of five years.

These small practices have an opportunity now to learn from previous large-scale state-based efforts with similar goals, such as California’s Equity and Practice Transformation (EPT) program, supported by the PopHealth Learning Center (Learning Center). This program supports 198 primary care practices across the state that collectively deliver more than 8 million primary care visits each year, many serving Medi-Cal communities, as they build the infrastructure needed to deliver high-quality, population-centered care. Participating practices are strengthening operational foundations, improving their ability to use data, and expanding care models that better meet the needs of the communities they serve.

The Learning Center plays a central role in this work. As the program’s technical assistance and data partner, the Learning Center supports practices in developing population health management capabilities while designing and monitoring payment structures and building the statewide data infrastructure that enables practices and health plans to view and act on shared performance data.

Through this work, practices are gaining the tools and support needed to improve access to care, strengthen continuity with patients, and build sustainable models for delivering primary care in underserved communities.

The insights gleaned from our EPT program come at an important moment as states begin implementing the CMS Rural Health Transformation Program, a national investment aimed at strengthening rural health infrastructure and supporting primary care practices.

This work would not be possible without the collaboration of the California Department of Health Care Services, Covered California, participating health plans, and the 198 primary care practices whose leadership and commitment continue to shape the program.

Read the full publication: https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/supporting-small-and-rural-practices-through-state-investments-primary-care