Structuring Payment For Medical Homes

Despite widespread interest in the medical home model, there has been a lack of careful assessment of alternative methods to pay practices that serve as medical homes. This paper examines four specific payment approaches: enhanced fee-for-service payments for evaluation and management; additional codes for medical home activities within fee-for-service payments; per patient per month medical home payments to augment fee-for-service visit payments; and risk-adjusted, comprehensive per patient per month payments. Payment policies selected will affect both the adoption of the model and its longer-term evaluation. Evaluations of ongoing demonstrations should focus on payment design as well as on care—and cost.