Up to 25 states plan on moving ahead in 2015 with State Health Innovation Plans (SHIPs) funded by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), according to a report from Accenture.
CMS invested $960 million in the creation of the State Innovation Models initiative to support state-based healthcare reforms. Roughly $300 million was awarded in 2013 for design and testing of projects and another $660 million in 2014 to support the state-led efforts to improve delivery systems and payment models across Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
“Collectively, SHIPs represent the current state view on the art of the possible in reinventing care delivery,” the Accenture report said. “Analysis of the plans shows that states envision coordinated, collaborative and cost-effective health and human services models that are much different from ‘the system’ as it is today.”
Accenture outlined the top investment areas by the states currently participating in the program are as follows:
1. Patient-centered medical homes: In order to strengthen primary care integration with specialists and community health workers, 25 states are investing in patient-centered medical homes. Most states will also integrate physical and behavioral care.
2. Telehealth: Some 19 states seeking to treat more patients without adding healthcare workers and facilities are plan to expand use of virtual care technology, such as telehealth and remote monitoring. Some of the states are also improving reporting and evaluation of health data, such as using geographic information systems (GIS) to match resources to hotspots of chronic disease.
3. All-payer claims databases: An estimated 14 states are pursuing statewide data aggregation and analytics to reduce redundancy, improve insights into population health, and foster integration of health data with human services data, with a goal of designing more effective intervention and wellness programs to reduce long-term healthcare costs.
4. Self-service tools: Patient portals and other digital tools are being offered by 15 states to reduce administrative costs while improving self-care, expanding access to electronic health records and information on value-based health choices and access to care delivery options.
5. Lower-cost labor models: The 25 states are targeting investment in low-cost, community health workers to shift labor costs to more appropriate caregivers. Some states are mobilizing human services “navigators” as liaisons between primary care coordinators and social service programs. Others are mobilizing cross-sector partners, such as business and community organizations, for health and wellness initiatives.
“State innovation plans will focus on integrating approaches to healthcare and expanding access to care, driven by the pressing need to improve outcomes and control costs,” Kaveh Safavi, MD, global managing director of Accenture’s health practice, said in a statement accompanying the report. “Integrating healthcare and human services — starting with the data they gather and the outcomes they achieve — will break down data silos to make operations and information more transparent and coordinated while aligning federal resources to eliminate gaps.”
Date: January 26, 2015