Making Care Primary: The New Era of Integrated Healthcare

On July 1st of this year, a groundbreaking healthcare initiative was launched across eight states in the U.S., including Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina and Washington. 

Dubbed Making Care Primary (MCP), this ambitious program spans 772 practices. And it marks a significant step toward improving the quality of community-based healthcare delivery nationwide.

Building on Proven Models

The MCP model is grounded in the success of primary care initiatives from years past, such as Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) and Primary Care First. 

However, MCP stands alone. It differentiates itself by placing a stronger emphasis on leveraging community-based connections and supporting less experienced primary care practices in advancing care delivery. By fostering these connections, MCP aims to enhance the ability of primary care providers to deliver high-quality, coordinated care.

For Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Community Health Clinics, MCP offers an ideal pathway to adopt value-based reimbursements and gain critical experience in risk-sharing. The program’s 10.5-year participation period provides ample time for these institutions to build the necessary infrastructure and accumulate valuable expertise.

A Focus on Behavioral Health Integration

A key MCP innovation is its emphasis on integrating behavioral health and specialty care into primary care settings.

Practices participating in Track 2 of MCP are required to implement evidence-based behavioral health screening and evaluation processes, which are critical for improving patient care and coordination. This focus on behavioral health integration addresses a longstanding gap in the U.S. healthcare system, where behavioral health services are often siloed from primary care.

Addressing Key Challenges in Primary Care

MCP is designed to tackle some of the most pressing challenges faced by primary care providers in implementing integrated care models.

The program addresses these common challenges through three core strategies:

1. Financing: MCP provides upfront payments and additional performance improvement bonuses specifically aimed at enhancing behavioral health services. This financial support is crucial for practices that may lack the resources to implement comprehensive behavioral health integration.

2. Equity: The program is structured to encourage participation from smaller, less-resourced practices by introducing risk incrementally. Additional funding for care coordination and integration activities is also provided, ensuring that all practices—regardless of size—can offer equitable access to integrated care. This is particularly important for enabling patients to receive behavioral health services in familiar and trusted settings.

3. Sustainability: MCP engages both commercial payers and Medicaid, thereby providing the necessary resources for sustained behavioral health integration. This dual engagement is essential for building a healthcare system that can support integrated care in the long term.

Investing in Healthcare Infrastructure

MCP provides upfront infrastructure payments to support integrated care implementation. These funds can be used to increase staffing, develop strategies to address social determinants of health (SDOH)—such as transportation and housing—and invest in healthcare infrastructure, including expanding health IT systems.

MCP also sets stringent health IT requirements, including the adoption and maintenance of a certified electronic health record system (CEHRT) that meets the updated U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) standards by January 1, 2025. 

Additionally, practices must ensure patient access to their health information through technology that incorporates a standards-based API. They must also comply fully with information blocking requirements and support eCQM measures reporting.

A Blueprint for the Future of Healthcare

Making Care Primary is more than just a wellness program; it represents a blueprint for the future of integrated whole-person care. By providing the necessary funding, infrastructure and support, MCP empowers primary care practices to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care that addresses both physical and behavioral health needs. 

As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, initiatives like MCP play a crucial role in shaping a more integrated, equitable and sustainable healthcare system for all.