Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the Partnership for Patients, a new national public-private partnership with the goals of:
* Keeping patients from getting injured or sicker. By the end of 2013, preventable hospital-acquired conditions would decrease by 40% compared to 2010. Achieving this goal would mean approximately 1.8 million fewer injuries to patients, with more than 60,000 lives saved over the next three years.
* Helping patients heal without complication. By the end of 2013, preventable complications during a transition from one care setting to another would be decreased so that all hospital readmissions would be reduced by 20% compared to 2010. Achieving this goal would mean more than 1.6 million patients will recover from illness without suffering a preventable complication requiring re-hospitalization within 30 days of discharge.
Through the Community-based Care Transition Program, HHS has committed $500 million to community-based organizations partnering with eligible hospitals to help people with Medicare safely transition between settings of care. Today, community-based organizations and acute care hospitals that partner with community-based organizations can begin submitting applications for this funding. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Awards will be made on an ongoing basis as funding permits. In addition, in coordination with stakeholders from across the health care system, the CMS Innovation Center is planning to use up to $500 million in additional funding to test different models of improving patient care and patient engagement and collaboration in order to reduce hospital-acquired conditions and improve care transitions nationwide.
The aging network – state and local organizations alike -- has a vital role to play in this effort to integrate medical and long-term supports and services and improve care transitions for our clients and their families. This work also provide an excellent opportunity to integrate other important work you are already doing – including Aging and Disability Resource Centers, benefits outreach and enrollment, caregiving and respite programs, chronic disease self-management and other health promotion/disease prevention programs, and more. Finally, the partnerships that you build through care transitions work – with hospitals, physician practices, long-term care facilities and other organizations – can also help to position you better for future ACA-related opportunities such as accountable care organizations, health homes, patient-centered medical homes, and more.
Here is how we can work together on this initiative:
* Learn more about the Partnership for Patients and join the partnership by visiting the Partnership website at http://www.healthcare.gov/center/programs/partnership
* Read our special Affordable Care Act Newsletter which provides you with additional details about the Partnership for Patients and the Community-based Care Transition Program (CCTP). To access the newsletter, please go to http://www.aoa.gov/Aging_Statistics/docs/ACA_Enews_P4P_041211.pdf
* Join us for our next Webinar on Wednesday, April 20, which will offer an overview of the CCTP solicitation, and the opportunities for the aging network that lie within. (Watch your email for registration details)
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