On June 14, the Primary Care Collaborative provided feedback to the Senate Finance Committee on its White Paper, “Bolstering Chronic Care Through Physician Payment: Current Challenges and Policy Options.” Recognizing the overwhelming evidence demonstrating that primary care reduces costs and increases positive health outcomes, the PCC and its partners in the Better Health – NOW campaign urge Senators to place primary care at the center of legislation addressing chronic care and Medicare Part B payment.
The letter emphasizes the transformative promise of primary care and explains how chronic underinvestment is limiting American’s access to the high-quality care they deserve. To address these concerns, PCC and its Better Health – NOW Partners recommends:
- Advancing legislative solutions that make a well-constructed primary care hybrid payment option broadly available
- Address concerns regarding budget neutrality in the Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule
- Design and implement a hybrid payment that invests in the team-building
- Provide cost-sharing waivers for services provided prospectively under a hybrid payment plan
- And more.