Primary Care First Model Application Deadline Extended
CMS extends practice application deadline to May 21, 2021, and the payer application deadline to June 18, 2021
April 14, 2021 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended the deadline for those interested in applying for Cohort 2 of the Primary Care First Model (PCF). The Primary Care First Model is a set of voluntary alternative five-year payment options that provide rewards for value and quality. This is done by offering a new payment structure to support the delivery of quality primary care. It is based on the principles of the existing Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model design.
In the PCF Model, CMS uses a set of clinical quality and patient experience measures to assess the quality of care provided by a practice. PCF practices must meet certain quality of care standards to be eligible for performance-based adjustment to their primary care model payments. This is designed to be a multi-payer model to amplify the impact of the model.
Primary Care First Model Practices & Corhorts
Currently, PCF is offered in 26 regions throughout the country and there are two cohorts of participating practices. Cohort 1 began in January 2021 and there are 827 practices and 14 payer partners participating.
Cohort 2 is slated to start in January 2022. The second cohort is the group that CMS has extended the application deadline for. The deadline for PCF practice applications is now May 21, 2021. The deadline for payer applications is June 18, 2021.
CMS Offering Office Hours for Primary Care First Model
There are many nuances to the Primary Care First Model. To ensure applicants are well informed, CMS is offering additional Office Hour events.
The Practice Applicants Office Hour is Wednesday, May 5th at 2 pm ET. During the meeting, the PCF Model Team will answer questions regarding payment design and attribution, eligibility, and more. Interested applicants can register here. Informational webinars for practice applicants were also held in March and these materials can be viewed here.
The Payer Applicants Office Hour will be held Wednesday, May 12th at 2 pm ET. The Primary Care Model Team will be available to answer questions regarding the benefits of being a payer partner, alignment principles, the solicitation process, and more. To register for the Office Hour, click here. Payer applicants can also view the Become a PCF Payer Partner webinar for more information.
The PCF Model Team Is Available for More Information
Those interested in additional information on the Primary Care First Model should visit the CMS Primary Care First webpage. Interested parties can also contact PCF Support at 1-833-226-7278 or PrimaryCareApply@telligen.com with questions or for help completing an application.
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The VBP Blog is a comprehensive resource for all things related to value-based payments. Up-to-date news, informative webinars, and relevant blogs in the VBP sphere to help your organization find success.