Since July 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded 25 states nearly $300 million to help them plan, design, and test new ways to improve population health and increase the value of health care services they pay for. Under the State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, Oregon, for example, is promoting community-based networks of providers that receive a set fee to deliver a range of chronic disease management and health promotion services for Medicaid enrollees.
A new Commonwealth Fund issue brief examines the early experiences of the SIM states, and offers lessons for other states wishing to pursue broad health system reforms while contending with formidable political and budgetary constraints.