Health centers receive federal funding for Medicare patients
WASHINGTON, D.C. | Seven community health centers in the state, including one in Northwest Indiana, will receive funding over three years to improve the care they give to Hoosiers with Medicare, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Monday.
Created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as the health care reform, this Advanced Primary Care Practice program will have Medicare pay community health centers based on the quality of care they deliver, rewarding clinics for helping patients monitor chronic illnesses. The funding also will allow the centers to make same-day appointments, help with urgent care needs and expand clinic hours.
“The goal of this demonstration is to help patients get the care they need in a primary care setting rather than in an emergency department,” Dr. Donald Berwick, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator, said in a statement. “When patients are able to use a health center as their primary source of care, it helps primary care doctors, nurses and specialists coordinate their care.
The three-year period begins Nov. 1 and continues through Oct. 31, 2014, and 500 community health centers across the country will participate, receiving about $42 million.
Indiana clinics include Healthlinc Inc. in Valparaiso; Heart City Health Center Inc. in Elkhart; Vermillion-Parke Community Health Center in Clinton; and Indiana Health Centers Inc. in Logansport, Seymour, Kokomo and South Bend.
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/indiana/article_3fd9ae1e-13aa-5300-ad6d-306946cb5730.html#ixzz1bnt2U3Q9
By Kathleen Quilligan kathleen.quilligan@nwi.com, (219) 662-5331 nwitimes.com | Posted: Monday, October 24, 2011 8:55 pm | No Comments Posted