Strengthening Primary Care

As American health care transitions toward value-based models of care and payment, successful employers, plans, and health systems are finding strong primary care to be absolutely essential. Yet the United States spends only 4-8% of health care dollars on primary care, compared to an average of approximately 12% among other industrialized countries – each of which spends substantially less per capita on health care than the United States. To build an American health care system that delivers better care at a lower cost, primary care must become a national health policy priority. Here’s how:

Build on what’s working

Make Comprehensive Primary Care Plus and Independence at Home models available to practices across the country.
Continue to improve Medicare’s Physician Fee Schedule’s support for chronic care management.
Integrate payment streams and clinician training for primary care and behavioral health.
Implement MACRA’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Model provisions.

Preserve existing investments in health centers & primary care workforce

Provide long-term funding for the Community Health Center Fund.
Sustain mandatory support for the National Health Service Corps & the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education programs.
Maintain stable discretionary appropriations for healthcare workforce programs.