Ohio wins $3 million federal grant for payment reform work

OHT announced last week that Ohio has received a $3 million federal grant to continue working on a plan to improve the state’s health care payment and delivery systems for Medicaid and Medicare patients and those on commercial health plans (source: “Ohio receives $3M federal grant to help improve health care payment system,” Dayton Daily News, Feb. 21, 2013).

Ohio’s plan will involve expanding the use of patient-centered medical homes, which bring together doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. The grant is part of $300 million in funding awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services to 25 states that are attempting to use innovative approaches to lowering Medicaid costs.

This week, the Commonwealth Fund released a series of case studies examining similar efforts in the Medicaid programs in Colorado, Minnesota and Vermont to pioneer innovative health care payment and delivery system reforms.