New Payment Model Aims to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk

A new payment model through the Affordable Care Act seeks to decrease cardiovascular disease for tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries by assessing patient risks for heart attack and stroke and then helping them to reduce those risks.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction model and explained that it will use a data-driven modeling approach to generate personalized risk scores and modification plans for patients. Participating providers will work to determine Medicare patients' individual risk for heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years, and identify the best approaches to reduce that risk, such as stopping smoking, reducing blood pressure, or taking cholesterol-lowering drugs or aspirin.

“The Million Hearts initiative is a part of our efforts to promote better care and smarter practices in our healthcare system,” Secretary Burwell said in a statement. “It recognizes that giving doctors more one-on-one time with their patients to prevent illness leads to better outcomes, and that greater access to health information helps empower patients to be active participants in their care.”

Providers will be paid for reducing absolute risk the absolute risk among their high-risk patients. CMS is now accepting applications for the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction model.

Learn more at CMS: http://1.usa.gov/1G3wK38