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Health Care Innovation Investment (HCII) Program

Chart made out of hexagons. [Light blue hexagon] 25% = 85%: One quarter of Massachusetts patients account for 85% of total medical expenditure. [Light orange hexagon] 1 in 4: Medicare dollars are spent on end-of-life care. [Light yellow hexagon] 2 in 5: Emergency department visits are for non-emergency care. [Blue-grey hexagon] $700M: Massachusetts spending on avoidable hospital readmissions. [Light orange hexagon] 60%: Massachusetts discharges are from high-cost care centers. [Light yellow hexagon] 4-7x: Additional cost for patients with a behavioral health comorbidity. [Light blue hexagon] $1.9B: Total Massachusetts spending on post-acute care.

triangle with shapes in each corner The Health Care Innovation Investment (HCII) Program invested $11.3 million in innovative projects by Massachusetts providers, health plans, and their partners that furthered the HPC’s goal of better health and better care at a lower cost.

The first phase of the HCII Program included over $11 million in investments to 20 competitively selected awardees from across the Commonwealth. Awards ranged from $250,000 to $1,000,000 and were divided among three pathways.

  1. Targeted Cost Challenge Investments (TCCI)
  2. Telemedicine Pilot Program
  3. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Investment Opportunity

On January 9, 2018, the Health Policy Commission (HPC) announced the next round of funding through its HCII Program: The SHIFT-Care Challenge. This $10 million grant opportunity is designed to foster innovative care delivery models in Massachusetts that shift the unnecessary delivery of care for complex patients from expensive, acute care hospitals, to more patient-centered, community-based settings.

Health Care Innovation Investment Summary

For more information on the HPC’s investment programs, please email [email protected].

Targeted Cost Challenge Investments (TCCI) 

The goal of the Targeted Cost Challenge Investments is to support innovative delivery and payment models that are poised to be taken to scale and make a meaningful impact on the Health Care Cost Growth Benchmark in years to come. Eligible applicants and their partners proposed initiatives that will reduce the cost of care to the health care system while improving quality and access in eight priority areas of high spending.

TCCI Awardees

The following profiles offer snapshots of Targeted Cost Challenge Investments funded through the HPC's HCII program, detailing each awardee's care model, anticipated impacts, and partner organizations. 

TCCI Awardee Profiles

AwardeeAward Amount
Behavioral Health Network  $750,000
Berkshire Medical Center$741,920
Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program $750,000
Boston Medical Center$747,289
Brookline Community Mental Health Center $418,583
Care Dimensions$750,000
Commonwealth Care Alliance$598,860
Hebrew SeniorLife$421,742
Lynn Community Health Center$690,000
Spaulding Hospital Cambridge$746,487

Telemedicine Pilot Program

The goal of the Telemedicine Pilot Program was to increase access to behavioral health care through technology. Eligible applicants and their partners proposed pilots using telemedicine to extend access to behavioral health care services for one of the following populations with unmet behavioral health needs:

  • Individuals with substance use disorder;
  • Children and adolescents; or
  • Older adults aging in place.

Health care providers, provider organizations, and carriers were eligible for investments and could partner with other market participants to deliver behavioral health care to the selected population.

Telemedicine Pilot Program Awardees

The following one-page briefs offer snapshots detailing the care model, measured impact, and partner organizations of each initiative funded through the Telemedicine Pilot Program, a pathway of the HPC's Health Care Innovation Investment Program. 

Telemedicine Pilot Project Awardee Profiles

AwardeeAward Amount
Heywood Hospital $425,570
Pediatric Physician's Organization at Children's$341,175
Riverside Community Care $499,860
UMass Memorial Medical Center$496,184

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Investment Program

The goal of the mother and Infant-focused Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Investment Program was to contribute to the Commonwealth’s nation-leading efforts to address the opioid epidemic by supporting enhanced care and treatment for mothers and infants affected by opioid use. Eligible applicants and their partners proposed interventions designed to improve care for infants with NAS and for women in treatment for opioid use disorder during and after pregnancy.

NAS Investment Program Awardees

The following profiles offer snap shots of NAS Investment Program initiatives funded by the HPC, detailing each awardee's care model, measured impact, and partner organizations. 

NAS Investment Program Awardee Profiles

AwardeeAward Amount
Baystate Medical Center  $249,778
Beverly Hospital$1,000,000
Boston Medical Center $248,976
Lawrence General$250,000
Lowell General$999,032
UMass Memorial Medical Center  $249,992