AAFP releases primary care-based payment proposal

(HealthDay)—The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has responded to a request for proposals from the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) by submitting a detailed plan, according to an AAFP news release.

The AAFP's plan, "Advanced Primary Care: A Foundational Alternative Payment Model for Delivering Patient-Centered, Longitudinal and Coordinated Care," outlines a vision for an alternative payment model (APM) that focuses on physicians, is primary care-based, improves patient care, and reduces costs.

Specifically, the AAFP's APM is built on the principle that patient-centered primary care is comprehensive, continuous, coordinated, connected, and accessible from the patient's first contact with the health system. Additionally, the model would institute a four-part payment methodology, including monthly prospective, risk-adjusted primary care global payments for direct patient care; monthly prospective, population-based payments covering non-face-to-face patient services; fee-for-service payments that cover only services not included in the global payment; and quarterly prospective, performance-based incentive payments related to patient experience, clinical quality, and utilization measures.

"The AAFP intends for the proposal to improve health care quality, but the broader goal is to use the delivery of 'coordinated, longitudinal care' to improve patient outcomes and reduce health care spending in a variety of ways, including decreasing patient hospitalizations and emergency room visits," the organization writes in its press release.