(Washington, DC) – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the District of Columbia has been selected for a CMS State Innovation Model (SIM) Design Award of $999,998. Over a twelve month period, beginning this week, the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) will engage a diverse group of both private and public stakeholders--- including payers, providers and consumers of health care services, to create a State Health Care Innovation Plan for the District of Columbia. The overall goal of the Plan will be to bolster primary health care and to better coordinate the care of the District’s most vulnerable residents. 

 

Mayor Muriel Bowser applauds public and private partnerships that promote a fresh look at a prevailing District issue. “Residents of the District of Columbia have one of the highest health care coverage rates in the nation. But despite the District’s substantial investment in health care, huge disparities exist between the health outcomes of many District residents” says Mayor Bowser. “The SIM Award will allow us to take a step back and collectively determine the best strategy to improve the health of District residents.”

 

Over the SIM Award year, DHCF will lead the DC team through collaboratively defining a strategy for health care delivery and payment reform that strengthens primary care providers’ management of chronic conditions in the community, and executes the best tools to reduce avoidable hospital re-admissions and over-reliance on emergency room care for vulnerable populations with complex health needs. Data, health information exchange and metrics to measure performance will be foundational to the success of this strategy.

 

For additional information, please contact DHCF’s Shelly Ten Napel at (202) 442-9090 or by email at [email protected], or Dena Hasan at (202) 535-2178 or by email at [email protected]