HHS Distributes $36.3M in Affordable Care Act Funding
Health center quality improvements including EHRs, chronic disease management and preventive care focus of ACA funding.
- One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act and other forms of healthcare reform is to promote quality over quantity. There are several provisions that incentivize healthcare organizations that invest in technology to improve operations or focus on value-based payment plans instead of the popular fee-for-service platform. The financial benefits to this shifting landscape is easier to see.
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced $36.3 million in Affordable Care Act funding to 1,113 health centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and seven U.S. territories. This money is being handed out to recognize health center quality improvement achievements and invest in ongoing quality improvement activities in areas like chronic disease management, preventive care and the use of electronic health records (EHRs) to report quality data.
“This funding rewards health centers that have a proven track record in clinical quality improvement, which translates to better patient care, and it allows them to expand and improve their systems and infrastructure to bring the highest quality primary care services to the communities they serve,” said Secretary Burwell in the release. “With these funds, health centers in all 50 states will continue to provide access to high quality, comprehensive primary and preventive health care to the patients that need it the most.”
Health centers received funds in one or more of the following ways:
Health Center Quality Leaders – Awarded to health centers that were among the top 30 percent when it comes to best overall clinical outcomes, demonstrating their ability to focus on quality in all aspects of their clinical operations. A total of 361 health centers received funding in this category of approximately $11.2 million.
National Quality Leaders – Awarded for exceeding national clinical benchmarks for chronic disease management, preventive care and perinatal/prenatal care, demonstrating the critical role that health centers play in promoting higher quality health care nationwide. A total of 57 health centers received funding in this category for approximately $2.5 million.
Clinical Quality Improvers – Awards if a health center demonstrated at least a 10 percent improvement in clinical quality measures between 2012 and 2013. A total of 1,058 health centers received funding of approximately $17.7 million.
Electronic Health Record Reporters – Awarded to health centers that used electronic health records to report clinical quality measure data on all of their patients. This is a key transformational step in driving quality improvements. A total of 332 health centers received funding of approximately $4.9 million.
“These funds reward and support those health centers that have taken steps to achieve the highest levels of clinical quality performance and improvement,” said Health and Resources Administration Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. said in the report.
