Feds award Ohio $75m grant for plan to test payment reform

Ohio was awarded this week a $75 million federal grant to test a new model for medical billing that the state hopes will lower costs and improve care (Source: “Ohio wins $75M to test new billing model to improve health care while lowering costs,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dec. 17, 2014).

The model, developed over 18 months of negotiation between the state, medical providers and the four largest health insurers in Ohio -- Anthem, Aetna, United Healthcare and Medical Mutual -- attempts to shift the focus from quantity of services to quality of care.

If the model works, doctors will be rewarded for providing better, more efficient care to their patients while keeping overall costs down.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation notified the state of the grant award by letter Tuesday. The money will go toward technical support, development of regulations and collection of data needed to implement the model.

More details about the state’s plan are available on the Governor’s Office for Health Transformation website.