HAGAN, PERDUE APPLAUD CMS ANNOUNCEMENT THAT MORE NORTH CAROLINIANS WILL BENEFIT FROM PATIENT CENTERED MEDICAL HOMES

U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) and Governor Bev Perdue today praised the recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement that the North Carolina Community Care Networks (NC-CCN) was selected to expand patient-centered medical homes. The successful model of care will be extended to include North Carolinians who are simultaneously eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as Medicare-only beneficiaries. Currently, the model is only used for Medicaid patients. North Carolina was one of only two states selected by CMS.

“The patient-centered medical home, which was pioneered in North Carolina, is an innovative delivery system that improves patient health and saves taxpayer money,” Hagan said. “It’s great news for North Carolina that CMS has allowed our state to expand this worthwhile program to additional North Carolinians.”

“North Carolina is a leader when it comes to the medical home care system that improves quality of care while reducing costs,” said Gov. Perdue.  “North Carolina’s innovative solutions continue to be recognized nationally.”

Under the community care “medical home” model, which Senator Hagan has advocated for on the Senate floor, each patient has access to a primary care provider who is responsible for overseeing comprehensive and preventive care, working in collaboration with nurses, specialists and other health care professionals.  The primary care provider serves as the nexus for all of a patient’s care and medical history.

For more than ten years, Community Care of North Carolina has successfully brought the patients-centered medical home to Medicaid beneficiaries.  And the program has save the stated hundreds of millions of dollars. From 2003 to 2007, the state saved over $500 million.  Community Care of North Carolina is comprised of 14 networks that include more than 4,000 physicians in all 100 counties and cover over 985,000 Medicaid enrollees.

NC-CCN is a not-for-profit organization that is assuming many of the functions performed by Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), which is North Carolina’s primary case management program for its Medicaid population.  Eight NC-CCN physician networks will be participating in the five-year demonstration project, which will be implemented in 26 counties. The networks include physicians, hospitals, health departments and other community organizations.