Investing in primary care. Lessons from state-based efforts
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Alternate Title(s):
- Lessons from state-based efforts
- Author(s):
- Condon, Mary Jo, author Koonce, Elizabeth, author Sinha, Vinayak, author Rourke, Emma, author Adams-McBride, Maggie, author Green, Linda, (Of Freedom HealthCare LLC), author Freedman, John, author
- Contributor(s):
- California HealthCare Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Oakland, CA] : California Health Care Foundation, April 2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Insurance, Health, Reimbursement Investments Primary Health Care -- economics State Government California
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Primary care is the foundation of any high-performing health care system; decades of evidence show that robust, accessible primary care is the most effective means to keep populations healthier longer. Yet the US lags well behind peer countries in investing in these services. America, on average, spends only about five cents of every health care dollar on primary care, or about one-third of what other high-income countries spend. Not coincidentally, our peers boast longer life expectancy and lower rates of chronic disease--all with lower per capita health care spending. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed an already-strained primary care system to the brink. Low compensation for primary care providers (PCPs), amid other challenges, helped create a PCP shortage in California and nationally. Primary care spending has trended downward for several decades. Additional financial strain on PCPs associated with the pandemic means the PCP shortage could worsen, especially in areas that are already underserved, and exactly when primary care is most needed to combat the pandemic and rebuild the nation’s health. Recognizing the urgent need to strengthen primary care and the need for collective action to achieve this goal, more than one-third of US states and several of the nation’s largest public and private purchasers have prioritized shifting more of the health care dollar to primary care. They use three types of mechanisms and a range of specific tools, often in combination, to achieve this goal: (1) Transparency. Measurement and reporting (2) Contracting. Shaping formal agreements (3) Regulatory. Statutes and regulations. The power of these approaches to shift health care investment rests on the engagement of multiple parties. The work is complex and takes time, yet leading states are showing measurable progress in the midst of multiyear journeys. California, with its long history of public and private purchaser engagement and alignment, is well poised to take steps to strengthen primary care. While the state does not yet have regulation in place to increase investments in primary care statewide, individual purchasers and payers have enacted a number of transparency and contracting mechanisms. These purchasers and payers--as well as the state--can do more.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (34 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918573685906676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918573685906676