AAFP partners with Caravan Health on CPC+ 'boot camp' for physicians

The American Academy of Family Physicians has announced a collaboration with Caravan Health to help member clinicians prepare for the upcoming Comprehensive Primary Care Plus initiative, which is set to alter how practices are paid across the country.

AAFP member physicians interested in participating in CPC+ can sign up for a free 9-week “boot camp” offered by Caravan Health, which will also help them potentially qualify for Track 2 of the initiative, according to a press release. Track 2 of CPC+ pays a $28 per beneficiary per month care management fee, while Track 1 pays $15 per beneficiary per month.

“You will not find a better or more rewarding way to prepare your primary care practice for the future of value-based payment than to participate in the CPC+ program,” Lynn Barr, CEO of Caravan Health, said in the press release. “We could not have found a better collaborator for engaging our nation’s family physicians than the AAFP.”

According to its website, Caravan Health currently supports 17,000 primary care providers in the United States in making the transition to value-based payments through Practice Transformation Networks and Accountable Care Organizations.

“The AAFP is excited to team up with Caravan Health to help our members prepare for CPC+,” Wanda Filer, MD, AAFP president, said in a press release. “This new initiative offers family physicians more freedom and flexibility in caring for their patients, and the opportunity to be rewarded financially for services and other incentive payments for meeting performance and quality metrics.”

Announced by CMS in April, CPC+ would create a two-track system for payments. Track 1 would see CMS pay primary care practices receive a monthly care management fee in addition to the fee-for-service payments under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Under Track 2, practices would receive the monthly care management fee, and a hybrid of reduced Medicare fee-for-service payments and upfront comprehensive primary care payments.

According to CMS, CPC+ is designed to help practices “move away from one-size-fits-all, fee-for-service” care. The move would allow physicians the freedom to deliver the care that best meets the needs of their patients, said officials.

The new CPC+ model builds on the previous Comprehensive Primary Care program, which launched in late 2012 and was made available to approximately 500 practices in seven markets around the United States. In contrast, CPC+ will be rolled out to 5,000 practices in 20 regions, including 20,000 physicians and clinicians serving 25 million patients.

MS will select which regions will see CPC+ implemented based on sufficient interest from payers. According to CMS, it will enter into a memorandum of understanding with selected payer partners to document a shared interest to align on payment, data sharing and CPC+ quality metrics.

CMS will be accepting proposals from payers from April 15 through June 1. Practices in the selected regions will be able to apply to partner with CPC+ from July 15 through Sept. 1.