Middlesex Participates in Innovative Medicare Program

This spring, physicians at Middlesex Hospital will begin a Medicare pilot project, in which they can be rewarded for coordinating services to patients that keep them healthier.

Currently, physicians throughout the country are paid by Medicare on what is called a "fee for service," basis, i.e., there is a particular cost associated with each service a doctor provides to patients. Under what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies (CMS) is calling a "demonstration project," Middlesex physicians will be one of ten physician groups throughout the U.S. to be eligible for additional payments, or "incentives," if they can show that providing and coordinating care differently can both improve the quality of their patients’ care and save Medicare money.

This type of service is called "pay-for-performance," and is gaining in popularity in the healthcare arena. During the three-year pilot program, CMS will continue to pay the Middlesex Hospital physicians on a fee-for-service basis. At the same time, at their own cost, physicians participating in the pilot program will develop strategies to anticipate patient needs, prevent chronic disease complications and avoid hospitalizations when possible, and improve quality of care. CMS will then make additional payments to the physicians, based on an evaluation of how well each group meets pre-established criteria.

"We are excited and gratified to have the opportunity to work with CMS, as well as the other sites, on this program, which for Middlesex was two years in the making," said the Hospital's Director of Community Medicine, Katherine Schneider, M.D.

"A track record of excellent cooperation between physicians and the hospital already exists. This program will allow us to build and expand on what we already have been doing for the past several years, with the goal of improving the health status of our patients as the ultimate outcome."

Contact Information

Public Relations Director
Amanda Falcone
860-358-6980
amanda.falcone@midhosp.org