2017 Arkansas Health Care Payment Improvement Initiative State Tracking Report – One Page Summary

Since its launch in 2012, the statewide, multi-payer implementation of Arkansas’s Health Care Payment Improvement Initiative (AHCPII) has positioned the state as a national leader in value-based health care innovation. The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) has worked with participating payers to track AHCPII progress. The third annual Statewide Tracking Report includes outcomes of the state’s unique total cost of care Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program and Episodes of Care (EOC) model.

Key Takeaways

For the PCMH program, voluntary provider participation has increased each year, from 123 clinics and 659 primary care providers (PCPs) in 2014, to 192 clinics and 900 PCPs in 2017; the vast majority of clinics have successfully completed PCMH transformation milestone activities.

For the EOC model, quality and financial improvements have been experienced in targeted areas, including a 28% reduction in unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for non-specific upper respiratory infections from 2012 to 2015.

For the perinatal (pregnancy) episode, sustained improvements were seen in perinatal screenings and C-section rates; for tonsillectomy episodes, Medicaid pathology lab tests fell by 47% from 2013 to 2015, and for Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield (ABCBS) average tonsillectomy episode cost fell by 5% from 2014 to 2015.