The State of Hawaii once again has an opportunity to demonstrate its leadership in healthcare transformation. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that Hawaii was awarded a planning grant worth $937,691 as part of the agency’s State Innovations Model (SIM) initiative.
Beginning April 1, the state will have six months to design and submit a State Healthcare Innovation Plan, built around multipayer payment and healthcare delivery system transformation. The completed plan will then be eligible for up to $60 million in implementation funds as part of the next phase of the SIM.
“Transforming our state’s healthcare system continues to be a focus of my New Day plan, and under the leadership of Beth Giesting, the state’s healthcare transformation coordinator, we’ve made great strides over the last year,”said Gov. Neil Abercrombie. “I am delighted to have these resources to build on our success and fully develop the strategies to move us toward a healthier Hawaii with services that are high-quality, cost-effective, and accessible for all of our residents.”
“We’re very excited to be a SIM recipient because the planning funds will enable us to accelerate our transformation efforts,”Giesting added. “I’d like to thank our many partners in the healthcare industry who have contributed a great deal of time and effort to move forward on the shared quest to transform our system of care. We look forward to continuing to work with these stakeholders over the next six months to design a plan we can all be proud of.”
As part of its application, the State of Hawaii identified developing a state innovation model informed by accountable care arrangements, patient-centered medical homes and value-based payment methodologies. Specific planning initiatives will include:
- examining standardized definitions and payment approaches for patient-centered medical homes and care management services
- analyzing opportunities for reducing waste eliminating unnecessary variation in administrative procedures among health plans
- identifying and addressing differences among plans in how licensed providers are reimbursed
- identifying methods for reimbursing telehealth services.
In addition to Hawaii, 15 other states were announced as awardees of the SIM Model Design planning grant. Each state will have six months to design its own State Healthcare Innovation Plan, which will then be eligible for anticipated Model Testing awards later this year. CMS expects to issue up to five such awards, each valued between $20 and $60 million.
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