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.

This week, MHA’s Government Affairs team asked hospital CEOs for their help in completing a survey to gather data on medical malpractice trends at Maryland’s hospitals.​

On Monday, as Marylanders throughout the state celebrate the unofficial end of summer, tens of thousands of women and men will head to work in Maryland’s hospitals. Their mission: to care for those who need them. This isn’t just the case on holidays. It’s their mission every day of the year, when more than 100,000 nurses, doctors, technicians, environmental service workers, and others go to work at one of Maryland’s hospitals and health systems.

It’s just 20 weeks until the launch of Maryland’s new hospital payment model. The Health Services Cost Review Commission is considering an important proposal that will help to get the model off on the right foot. The proposal is meant to adjust for the growing bad debt hospitals are seeing from commercially insured patients, the effect of which has been to shift costs onto Medicare and Medicaid.

You know all too well that our communities’ needs for health care don’t take the summer off. Maybe it’s not flu season just now, and perhaps fewer elective procedures are scheduled. But for the most part, the beat goes on. You are there for the people who need you … 24/7/52.​