Statement on the Administration’s Initiative to Transform Rural Health

By Blair Childs, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs

We applaud the Administration for unveiling new alternative payment models (APMs) designed to bring better coordinated and integrated value-based care to patients living in rural and underserved communities. Premier has continually advocated for APMs that bring rural providers into the population health revolution through tailored programs that work in low-population density areas.

The Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model incorporates key provisions for which Premier has advocated. By requiring partnerships between health systems, state Medicaid agencies and other providers, the Community Transformation track will help break down the current care silos and enable coordination across the continuum to improve care. Providers in rural areas will similarly benefit from capitated payments, which will ensure a predictable budget and a focus on innovative care to improve the health of their communities. We are hopeful the capitated payments are not heavily discounted as they have been in Direct Contracting.

Finally, the ACO Transformation Track will remove a major hurdle for rural providers wishing to transition to ACOs by providing critical up-front investment.

We look forward to hearing more details from CMS and working with the Administration and our members to implement the CHART Model.