Effects of the Million Hearts Model on Myocardial Infarctions, Strokes, and Medicare Spending

The Million Hearts Model paid health care organizations to assess and reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Model effects on long-term outcomes are unknown.

Evaluation of the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model

Mathematica and collaborators at RAND and the University of Colorado found that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model reduced the incidence of first-time heart attacks and strokes for high- and medium-risk Medicare beneficiaries by 3...

Evaluation of the Maryland Total Cost of Care Model: Quantitative Only Report for the Model’s First Three Years (2019 to 2021): Findings at a Glance

This findings at a glance provides a brief overview of impacts from the first three years of the Maryland Total Cost of Care Model.

Evaluation of the Maryland Total Cost of Care Model: Quantitative Only Report for the Model’s First Three Years (2019 to 2021)

This report presents impacts from the first three years of the Maryland Total Cost of Care Model (MD TCOC). MD TCOC uses a hospital global budget and expands it to statewide accountability for cost and quality outcomes and broadens the incentives and supports to providers to transform care.

Evaluation of the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: Fourth Annual Report

Over four years (2017 to 2020), the Million Hearts CVD Risk Reduction Model enrolled more than 250,000 Medicare beneficiaries throughout the United States who were at elevated risk of having a heart attack or stroke over 10 years.

Hospital Use for Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Among Medicare Beneficiaries from March to December 2020

Hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke declined nationwide among adults during the early COVID-19 period, suggesting some patients did not receive timely care for these emergencies.

Readiness and Implementation of Quality Improvement Strategies Among Small and Medium-Sized Primary Care Practices: An Observational Study

The study by Soylu et al. tested the hypothesis that practices with higher readiness for change would be more likely to implement quality improvement (QI) strategies.

Effect of the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model on Initiating and Intensifying Medications

The Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Reduction Model pays provider organizations for measuring and reducing Medicare patients’ cardiovascular risk.

Evaluation of the Maryland Total Cost of Care Model: Implementation Report

This is the first report for the independent evaluation of the Maryland Total Cost of Care (MD TCOC) Model. The report findings describe model implementation in the first two years and will serve as a foundation for interpreting future impact estimates and what aspects of the model might drive them.

Evaluation of the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: Third Annual Report

In its first three years, the Million Hearts Model improved cardiovascular preventive care, but did not yet reduce observed heart attacks and strokes or lower Medicare spending.

Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: Evaluation Year 2 Findings at a Glance

The Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Reduction Model (Million Hearts Model) tests whether providing targeted incentives to health care providers to reduce CVD risk lowers the incidence of first-time heart attacks and strokes among Medicare beneficiaries (ages 40-79 who have not had a...

Evaluation of the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: Second Annual Report

Evaluation findings from year two of the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model.

Parent Partners: Evaluation of a Novel Peer-Support Intervention for the Caregivers of Children Hospitalized for Behavioral Health Conditions

Ninety-six percent of caregivers who were offered the intervention engaged with a parent partner.

Effects of a Behavioral Health and Chronic Illness Care Intervention on Patient Outcomes in Primary Care Practices in the Dakotas

From 2012 to 2015, Sanford Health, a large health care system, integrated behavioral health services and chronic condition care management in some of its primary care practices in the Dakotas and rural Minnesota.

Effects of a Community-Based Care Management Model for Super Utilizers

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a high-intensity care management program that the Rutgers University Center for State Health Policy (CSHP) implemented as an adaptation of a promising model developed by the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers.

Rural Hospital Transitional Care Program Reduces Medicare Spending

A telephonic transitional care program at a rural hospital reduced postdischarge Medicare spending by 31% and reduced inpatient spending for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.

The Impact of a Health Information Technology–Focused Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood Program Among Medicare Beneficiaries in Primary Care Practices: The Effect on Patient Outcomes and Spending

This paper estimates impacts of TransforMED’s HCIA-funded program on patient outcomes and Medicare parts A and B spending.

Association Between Extending CareFirst's Medical Home Program to Medicare Patients and Quality of Care, Utilization, and Spending

CareFirst, the largest commercial insurer in the mid-Atlantic Region of the United States, runs a medical home program focusing on financial incentives for primary care practices and care coordination for high-risk patients.

Testing the Replicability of a Successful Care Management Program: Results from a Randomized Trial and Likely Explanations for Why Impacts Did Not Replicate

Even if demonstrated in a randomized trial, successful results from one test may not replicate in other settings or time periods.

Evaluation of Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA): Primary Care Redesign Programs, Second Annual Report, Volume II: Individual Program Summaries

Evaluation of Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA): Primary Care Redesign Programs, First Annual Report Volume I: Technical Report

In July 2012, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) awarded cooperative agreements to a select group of programs proposing innovative ways to improve the quality and lower the cost of care for Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees.

Impacts of Waiting Periods for Home- and Community-Based Services on Consumers and Medicaid Long-Term Care Costs in Iowa

Using a quasi-experimental design, this study assessed the effects of waiting periods on the costs of Medicaid long-term care and the risk of long-term nursing home stays and hospitalizations.

Impacts of Waiting Periods for Home- and Community-Based Services on Consumers and Medicaid Costs in Iowa (Presentation)

How Changes in Washington University's Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration Pilot Ultimately Achieved Savings

This article analyzed the experiences of the School of Medicine’s care-management program as it took part in the Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration, with the goal of reducing hospitalizations and Medicare spending or improving quality while remaining cost neutral.

Rewarding Physicians for Their Patients' Health Outcomes: What Can Medicare Learn from Education's Value-Added Models?

This working paper examines how value-added models of performance measurement used in education can apply to health care when measuring and rewarding physician performance, particularly in the Medicare system.

Six Features of Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration Programs that Cut Hospital Admissions of High-Risk Patients (Journal Article)

This article identifies a high-risk subgroup of Medicare beneficiaries in the Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration for which 4 of the 11 participating programs significantly reduced hospitalizations, and the distinguishing features of those successful programs.

Coordinating Care in the Medical Neighborhood: Critical Components and Available Mechanisms

This white paper examines key components in the medical neighborhood and how the patient-centered medical home is situated within it. It also addresses barriers to a well-functioning neighborhood, the tools available to achieving one, and the strengths and weaknesses of each tool.

Fourth Report to Congress on the Evaluation of the Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration

This report evaluated Mercy Medical Center North Iowa and Health Quality Partners, two providers in the Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration, a rigorous multiyear evaluation sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to determine if care coordination improves quality of care and...

Assessment of the National Quality Forum's Consensus Development Process

This project sought to provide formative feedback on the Consensus Development Process (CDP)―the means that the National Quality Forum (NQF) uses to engage diverse public and private stakeholders to reach consensus on ways to operationalize, measure, and publicly report on national priorities for health...

The Roles of Patient-Centered Medical Homes and Accountable Care Organizations in Coordinating Patient Care

This brief describes the importance of different care coordination activities in improving patient outcomes. It also explores ways that the patient-centered medical home and accountable care organizations can coordinate care.

Medical Homes: Will They Improve Primary Care?

Medical homes are part of our nation’s overall efforts to reform the health care system. For decades, medical homes have been a model for coordinating health care for children, particularly those with special health care needs.

Implementing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico: A Feasibility Study

This study assesses the potential impact of establishing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Puerto Rico, including the administrative burden and costs to both the U.S. government and the government of Puerto Rico.

Results from a Radical Makeover of a Care Coordination Program Show How Program Design Affects Success in Reducing Hospitalizations and Costs: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial Before and After Key Changes in Program Design

Basing Health Care on Empirical Evidence

Reviews initiatives under way to put evidence into practice.

Disease Management: Does It Work?

Disease management programs seek to control health care costs by focusing on two major drivers: high-cost chronic illness and inpatient hospitalizations for acute conditions.

Encouraging Appropriate Use of Preventive Health Services

This brief summarizes evidence on the benefits and cost-effectiveness of preventive health services, noting that health reform brings significant new opportunities to improve access to preventive care.

Financial Incentives for Health Care Providers and Consumers

Show them the money. Health reform will emphasize financial incentives for providers and consumers to promote the use of effective health services and discourage use of marginally effective or inappropriate services.

How Does Insurance Coverage Improve Health Outcomes?

This brief synthesizes the compelling research evidence linking health insurance coverage to good health outcomes for both adults and children.

Features of Successful Care Coordination Programs

Promising Models of Care Coordination in Medicare: Lessons for Medicaid Beneficiaries with Chronic Illnesses

The Promise of Care Coordination: Models That Decrease Hospitalizations and Improve Outcomes for Beneficiaries with Chronic Illnesses

The goals of this presentation is to identify proven interventions for beneficiaries with chronic illnesses.

The Promise of Care Coordination: Models that Decrease Hospitalizations and Improve Outcomes for Medicare Beneficiaries with Chronic Illnesses

Promising Results from the Medicare Chronic Care Practice Research Network Analysis

Care coordination is not a panacea, but some care coordination programs reduce hospitalizations and costs for certain subgroups.

Analytic Support for Washington Citizens' Work Group on Health Care: Evaluation of Health Care Reform Proposals

Mathematica evaluated five health care reform proposals for the state of Washington in 2008.

Health Plans' Use of Physician Resource Use and Quality Measures

In recent years, health plans have developed measures of health service resource use to assess efficiency of care physicians and other providers deliver primarily relying on tools commonly known as "episode groupers."

Personal Health Records: What Do Underserved Consumers Want?

Personal health information is a valuable resource to individuals and their families, as well as health care providers.

Quality Care for Children with ADHD: The Role of Primary Care Physicians

This brief, the sixth in a series on critical issues involved in caring for children with special health care needs, notes that 40 percent of children with special health care needs enrolled in commercial health insurance plans have an emotional or behavioral disorder.

Addressing the Epidemic of Childhood Obesity Through School-Based Interventions: What Has Been Done and Where Do We Go from Here?

Schools are ideal settings for implementing multi-component programs to prevent and control childhood obesity.