Letter 8.14.26

Integrating Comprehensive Medication Management into Advanced Primary Care

The Primary Care Collaborative (PCC) and American College of Clinicial Pharmacy (ACCP) developed a resource guide to support the integration of Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) into advanced primary care models, including the Patient-Centered Medical Home.

CMM is a patient-centered, team-based approach that ensures medications are used appropriately, effectively and safely to optimize health outcomes and reduce costs.

Check out our full fact sheet below.

Concept of national healthcare system - Massachusetts

OPINION – My Turn: Massachusetts just took a real step to save primary care

On July 30, something happened in the Massachusetts House that primary care doctors like me have been waiting years to see: the House passed H.5618, the PC4YOU bill, with a unanimous vote. The Senate passed its own version back in June. For the first time in a long time, it feels like Beacon Hill is taking the primary care crisis seriously.

[…]

July 31 letter preview

Medicaid Community Engagement Comments

On July 31, the PCC and its Better Health NOW Campaign submitted formal comments on the Interim Final Rule implementing Medicaid Community Engagement requirements, calling on CMS to “withdraw and reissue the IFR in a manner that is more consistent with Medicaid’s statutory aim and requirements.” 

Read our letter below.

CMS logo on phone in front of website on laptop screen

Primary care advocates cheer gains in 2027 MPFS but push CMS and private payers for more

[…]

The Primary Care Collaborative (PCC) hosted “Primary Care Wins in the 2027 MPFS,” an online webinar devoted to the proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). PCC President and CEO Ann Greiner, M.C.P., talked through the rule’s primary care provisions with Jake Quinton, M.D., chief medical officer for Medicare Parts A and B at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). A second panel, also moderated by Greiner, brought in Aisha Pittman, M.P.H., senior vice president of government affairs at the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS); Stephanie Quinn, senior vice president of external affairs and practice experience at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP); and Nima Sheth, M.D., M.P.H., vice president of health justice at the National Partnership for Women & Families.

[…]

Primary care practices successfully deliver family-based childhood obesity treatment

Childhood obesity affects one in five children in the U.S., yet most families have limited access to specialized weight-management programs for children. Now, a large clinical trial led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of Rochester Medical Center, the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has shown that an effective, family-based treatment model can be delivered in primary care settings to treat children and adolescents with obesity.

[…]

Concept of US national healthcare system - state of Idaho

Idaho doctor shortage persists

Among health care professionals in Idaho, one concern remains constant: The state needs more doctors.

Dr. Jonathan Shupe said North Idaho’s five northern counties are expected to be short about 50 primary care physicians by 2030.

[…]

Concept of national healthcare system - Massachusetts

Op-ed: Mass. should invest in community behavioral health centers to keep people covered

[…]

Documentation burdens, frequent renewal deadlines, and complex reporting rules will push residents off MassHealth, unless the state takes deliberate steps to help people navigate the system. Those most at risk, including people with behavioral health conditions and unstable housing, are also the least able to navigate these requirements on their own, making investment in the behavioral health safety net essential to keeping them covered.

[…]

A hand sorting through a stack of complicated documents.

States gird for new Medicaid ‘medically frail’ rule

State Medicaid agencies are concerned that many sick and disabled enrollees will lose their coverage because the Trump administration is narrowing the definition of who is “medically frail” enough to get an exemption from new work requirements.

[…]