Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency.
CMS Provides Updates to the Frontier Community Health Integration Project (FCHIP) Demonstration
October 23: CMS published an updated fact sheet for the Frontier Community Health Integration Project (FCHIP) Demonstration that began in 2016, and which was extended under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The revised factsheet includes updates to FCHIP details and participant list. The FCHIP Demonstration aims to develop and test new models of integrated, coordinated health care in the most sparsely populated rural counties. A specific objective is to support Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and the local delivery system in keeping patients within the community who might otherwise be transferred to distant providers. For more information visit the Frontier Community Health Integration Project Demonstration website.
CMS Announces Third and Final Cohort of States Participating in the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) Model
October 28: CMS announced the third and final Cohort of states to participate in the states Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) Model. Rhode Island and a sub-state region of New York join Maryland and Vermont, Cohort 1 states, and Connecticut and Hawaii, Cohort 2 states, announced in July of this year. Under the AHEAD Model, CMS and participating states will work collaboratively to curb health care cost growth, improve population health through investments in primary care, and advance health equity by addressing disparities in health outcomes. States will have the opportunity to receive up to $12 million to support the model implementation activities over the course of the first five to six years of the model.
CMS Updates Care Compare Listing of Hospitals Designated as Birthing-Friendly Hospitals
October 30: CMS updated the ‘Birthing-Friendly’ designation icons on Care Compare for the first time since rolling out the initiative in October 2023. Hospitals that attested to the Maternal Morbidity Structural measure in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program received the designation. The icons will be refreshed using updated data from CY 2023. CMS created the designation to identify hospitals and health systems that participate in a statewide or national perinatal quality improvement collaborative program and that implement evidence-based care to improve maternal health. Eighty percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, and Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people have the highest rates of pregnancy-related death. The ‘Birthing- Friendly’ designation is a step towards ensuring that all pregnant and post-partum people can find high-quality maternity care.
CMS Releases Sickle Cell Disease Provider Toolkit
October 31: CMS released a Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Provider Toolkit which focuses on strengthening the infrastructure across care settings to care for people with SCD, improving care management, and supporting the needs of people with SCD. The toolkit includes information on how CMS program coverage can assist people with SCD and educational materials for individuals with SCD and other community partners who serve them.
Other Recent Releases:
October 21: Biden-Harris Administration Proposes Expanding Coverage of Birth Control and Other Preventive Services
October 29: Medicare Shared Savings Program Continues to Deliver Meaningful Savings and High-Quality Health Care
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CMS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, serves the public as a trusted partner and steward, dedicated to advancing health equity, expanding coverage, and improving health outcomes. The agency protects public health by administering the Medicare program and working in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid, CHIP, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.