A new Connected Care initiative seeks to raise awareness of the benefits of chronic care management (CCM) services for Medicare beneficiaries and offer health care professionals support to implement CCM programs.
The initiative was announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Office of Minority Health and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries have two or more chronic conditions, and one-third of such patients have four or more chronic conditions. Health care professionals who provide CCM services — such as reviewing test results and coordinating with other providers — often are not aware they are eligible to receive separate payments for the services under Medicare Part B. Three new codes were added in January enabling reimbursement for more complex and time-intensive care management.
As part of the Connected Care initiative, CMS and HRSA developed toolkits and patient education resources to inform patients and health care professionals about CCM and related reimbursement.
Contact Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
