AN AWARD FOR ALIGNING QUALITY WITH CARE

This year, Blue KC was honored to receive the inaugural CPC+ Payer of the Year award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)/Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. The award recognizes our investment in primary care and longstanding relationships with CPC+ practices in the Kansas City region.

Blue KC was selected out of a field of 56 commercial and state payers to be recognized for our outstanding commitment to primary care transformation and alignment with CMS in payment, quality measurement, data sharing and learning support.

The CPC+ program goals of increasing access to and improving the quality and efficiency of primary care to achieve better health outcomes at lower costs are well aligned with those of Blue KC. In fact, back in 2017, Blue KC led efforts helping Kansas City to be chosen as one of 18 regions to pilot the CPC+ initiative.

“At Blue KC, our members’ health is our top priority, so we led the effort to bring CPC+ to the Kansas City area,” said Dr. Greg Sweat, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at Blue KC. “We’re proud to be part of the CPC+ initiative to transform the delivery of and payment for comprehensive primary care services. An established primary care routine improves patients’ continuity of care leading to improved health outcomes.”

According to an independent evaluation of CPC+, more than 800 clinicians in over 100 practices are participating in the program in Kansas City. CPC+ is projected to generate more than $40 million in new primary care payments in the Kansas City region over the five-year course of the program.¹

Through our involvement in CPC+ and other innovative programs, Blue KC continues to revolutionize primary care services in areas including improved access and continuity, care management, patient and caregiver engagement and population health.

¹ Independent Evaluation of Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+), Mathematica Policy Research