New Partnership Between Administration, The Private Sector, Hospitals And Doctors To Make Care Safer, Potentially Save Up To $50 Billion

This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, joined by leaders of major hospitals, employers, health plans, physicians, nurses, and patient advocates, announced the Partnership for Patients, a new national partnership that will help save 60,000 lives by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.  The Partnership for Patients also has the potential to save up to $35 billion in health care costs, including up to $10 billion for Medicare.  Over the next ten years, the Partnership for Patients could reduce costs to Medicare by about $50 billion and result in billions more in Medicaid savings.  Already, more than 500 hospitals, as well as physicians and nurses groups, consumer groups, and employers have pledged their commitment to the new initiative.

“With new tools provided by the Affordable Care Act, we can aggressively implement programs that will help hospitals reduce preventable errors,” said CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D.  “We will provide hospitals with incentives to improve the quality of health care, and provide real assistance to medical professionals and hospitals to support their efforts to reduce harm.”

HHS has committed $500 million to community-based organizations partnering with eligible hospitals to help patients 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 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.   These collaborative models will help hospitals adopt effective interventions for improving patient safety in their facilities.

Read the CMS Press Release Here

For more information about the Partnership for Patients, visit www.HealthCare.gov/center/programs/partnership.

For more information about the Community-based Care Transitions Program funding opportunity, visit www.cms.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/itemdetail.asp?itemID=CMS1239313.