Entering into the new model contract, Maryland’s hospitals and health systems are doubling down on the effort to improve health outcomes. Recent reports show where some of the key opportunities lie: maternal health; health care-associated infections; and opioid mortality.​

This week I have two very different good news items: one related to improving the support for survivors of sexual assault and the other on the Health Services Cost Review Commission’s (HSCRC) Medicare Performance Adjustment (MPA) policy.

Last week, during MHA’s very productive annual Executive Committee retreat, committee members deliberated upon a new strategic plan for your association. The conversation was high energy and yielded excellent insights. Staff will use the time until our November meeting to make the plan ready for formal ratification and dissemination

A week ago today, state health officials announced that Maryland would receive $66 million in federal funding to help combat the scourge of opioid addiction.​ And on Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan bill aimed at fighting the nation’s opioid epidemic. The bill contains some promising provisions, including a boost to treatment access for patients in rural areas and the removal of a 1960s rule that prohibits federal Medicaid reimbursement for certain inpatient treatment centers with mental illness patients.

The countdown is on to the inception of the Total Cost of Care Model. There are just over 100 days until Maryland will begin to be held accountable for controlling the cost of health care in all settings – not just hospitals.

August 31 was the deadline for physician practices to apply for the Maryland Primary Care Program. The tally of applicants for the first year – nearly 600 representing several thousand physicians – far exceeded projections. Ultimate participation may be smaller as CMMI wants to be sure each practice has enough patients on its panel to let the “law of large numbers” work.