Michigan receives approval for continuation of State Innovation Model; continues effort to reinvent state's health care system

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 1, 2018

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is continuing its quest to provide Michiganders with a better quality, lower cost health care system thanks to the continuation of Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) funding for its State Innovation Model (SIM).

In 2015, CMS awarded MDHHS nearly $70 million over four years to test and implement a model for delivering and paying for health care in the state. The award was based on Gov. Rick Snyder’s Blueprint for Health Innovation, in which he envisioned an efficient, effective and accountable government that collaborates on a large scale to provide quality service. CMS recently approved MDHHS’s Operational Plan for year three of the project which began today.

“Reinventing Michigan’s health care system is one of the state’s top priorities,” said Nancy Vreibel, MDHHS chief deputy director. “Michigan’s model recognizes that better health requires a comprehensive approach involving safe and healthy communities, workplaces, homes and lifestyles.”

The state has organized its SIM initiative into three categories: population health, care delivery and technology. Each category also focuses on improving outcomes for three priority populations: individuals at risk of high emergency department utilization, pregnant women and babies and individuals with multiple chronic conditions.

Implementing the population health component of the initiative are Community Health Innovation Regions (CHIRs). These broad partnerships of community organizations, local government agencies, business entities, health care providers, payers and community members work together to identify and implement strategies that address social determinants of health. CHIRs are being piloted in five areas of the state: Jackson, Muskegon and Genesee counties, the Northern Region and the Livingston-Washtenaw county areas.

A strong correlation between housing issues and homelessness and high emergency department utilization and poor health was observed across all CHIRS. Year 3 activities will focus on developing programs to help communities identify individuals in need of housing assistance, developing a sustained model for housing coordination funding and addressing housing shortages.

The care delivery component revolves around a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) initiative and the promotion of alternative payment models. PCMHs coordinate patient treatment through partnerships between patients and their primary care physicians to ensure they receive the necessary care when and where they need it, in a manner they can understand.

PCMH Year 3 activities will continue development, refinement and sustainability of clinical-community linkages, which will support patient linkage and coordination between clinical care and community-based social services.

On the technology front, the state is leveraging new and existing statewide infrastructure and related health information exchange initiatives including the Relationship and Attribution Management Platform (RAMP). RAMP supports several aspects of care management and coordination, including a health provider directory, a system for tracking active care relationships between patients and health care providers, the exchange of quality-related data and performance results and the transmission of admission, discharge and transfer notifications.

Year 3 will expand RAMP to allow it to be used in support of broader statewide health initiatives; establish a roadmap for increasing quality and detail of patient-level attribution data within Medicaid; and develop a use case for the collection and reporting of social determinants of health data.

For more information about Michigan’s State Innovation Model, visit Michigan.gov/SIM.

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