Westchester Medical Practice Selected by CMS to participate in Affordable Care Act Initiative

Aug. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- Westchester Medical Practice, a multi-specialty practice affiliated with Hudson Valley Hospital Center, is one of just 500 practices nationwide selected by the National Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to participate in a prestigious initiative designed to improve primary care for patients at lower cost.

“Our selection to participate in the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative is a significant win for WMP and a major coup for patients in our region. It will give us additional resources to focus more attention on our patients and support our efforts to better coordinate their care,’’ said William Higgins, MD, Medical Director of the Westchester Medical Practice  “This is a tremendous benefit for the community and recognition that WMP is among the leaders in the movement to improve primary care.’’
The Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) initiative was created by the Affordable Care Act to foster collaboration between payers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), state Medicaid agencies, commercial health plans, self-insured businesses and primary care providers.

As an incentive to improve coordination of care and reduce costs, primary care practices will receive a monthly care management fee to support enhanced, coordinated services on behalf of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.  Primary care practices that are part of the initiative will also received enhanced payment from participating commercial, state, and other federal insurance plans.

For patients, this means these physicians may offer longer and more flexible hours, use electronic health records; coordinate care with patients' other health care providers; better engage patients and caregivers in managing their own care, and provide individualized, enhanced care for patients living with multiple chronic diseases and higher needs.

In addition to the New York/New Jersey area, practices in Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio and Kentucky's Cincinnati-Dayton region, and the Greater Tulsa region of Oklahoma were selected for the four-year program.  Participating practices must meet nine milestones/quality metrics each year in order to remain in the program.

A 50-physician, multi-specialty practice offering quality medical care, Westchester Medical Practice has offices in Cold Spring, Cortlandt, Peekskill, Putnam Valley and Yorktown and is affiliated with Hudson Valley Hospital Center.