The investigators are conducting a prospective analysis of the Alternative Payment Methodology (APM) demonstration project sites. The investigators' goal is to conduct a cross project analysis of findings. The investigators propose to use mixed methods to study processes and outcomes associated with the APM natural experiment in payment reform. The investigators hypothesize that Community Health Centers (CHCs) participating in the APM demonstration project will redesign their workflows to better focus on patient and population health needs, resulting in reallocation of financial resources, lower overall costs, changes in utilization patterns, and improved quality.
Led by the Oregon Primary Care Association, three community health center (CHC) organizations in Oregon developed an Alternative Payment Methodology (APM). Under this APM pilot participating CHCs will receive a prospective payment system (PPS) payment as a capitated equivalent in a per-member-per-month rate for all of their Medicaid patients. Oregon CHC organizations (several clinic sites) implemented Phase I of this demonstration project on March 1, 2013; Phase II A was implemented on July 1, 2014; Phase II B on October 1, 2014; and Phase III began July 1, 2015. We are a prospective analysis of the APM project sites. We propose to use mixed methods to study processes and outcomes associated with the APM natural experiment in payment reform. We hypothesize that CHCs participating in the APM demonstration project will redesign their workflows to better focus on patient and population health needs, resulting in reallocation of financial resources, lower overall costs, changes in utilization patterns, and improved quality. The study will include baseline qualitative data collection as clinics are transitioning to the APM methodology. We will conduct 2 site visits to each intervention clinic to observe practice changes that occurred post APM-implementation (first visit approximately 12-18 months post-APM implementation; second visit approximately 30-36 months post-APM implementation). We will also assemble and analyze of pre-post quantitative and qualitative datasets, and interpretation and dissemination of study findings.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
400,000
Oregon developed an Alternative Payment Methodology (APM). Under this APM pilot participating CHCs will receive a prospective payment system (PPS) payment as a capitated equivalent in a per-member-per-month rate for all of their Medicaid patients
Internal services utilization
Number and type of internal services utilized including number and ratio of "traditional" face to face visits vs. "nontraditional" encounters and communication via phone, personal health record, and email
Time frame: ≤3 years pre-APM implementation and ≤3 years post
Quality care measures
We selected measures that are: 1) identified by Oregon's Medicaid program and/or those on the list of Clinical Quality Measures in the electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs; 2) feasibly measured with EHR or Medicaid claims data; 3) representative across age groups and gender; 4) representative of treatment levels (e.g., prevention, acute and chronic condition care); and 5) relevant to CHC populations.
Time frame: ≤3 years pre-APM implementation and ≤3 years post
External services utilization
Number and type of external services utilized including percent of patients with a follow-up appointment after discharge and average wait time
Time frame: ≤3 years pre-APM implementation and ≤3 years post
Medicaid expenditures
We will calculate the average pre-post APM difference in total Medicaid expenditures attributable to the subpopulation of Medicaid-insured patients in APM intervention clinics, subtracted by the average difference among Medicaid-insured patients in comparison clinics
Time frame: ≤3 years pre-APM implementation and ≤3 years post
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