Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, MD issued responses to the first physician focused payment models (PFPMs) reviewed by the PFPM Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) in April. The Secretary asked that design concerns be addressed before making a final decision on the American College of Surgeons-Brandeis Model. HHS also indicated it would not be moving forward with the COPD and Asthma Monitoring Project and Project Sonar models, but would consider elements of those proposals when developing its own future models. Despite not proceeding with any of the proposals at this time, Price provided valuable insights to guide development of future PFPMs. He explained models that are broad in scope and feature enhanced patient monitoring to reduce complications and hospital admissions hold promiseĀ but that HHS is not interested in models that would not be implemented beyond the submitter or use proprietary technology.
