Proposals to focus on innovative health care initiatives to cut costs, enhance access to behavioral health care through use of telemedicine, and improve care for infants exposed to opioids during pregnancy
BOSTON — Today, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) released requests for proposals (RFPs) for three new grant programs, totaling $9.5 million, to drive innovation in health care delivery and payment in Massachusetts. These programs, the Health Care Innovation Investment (HCII) Program, the Telemedicine Pilot Initiative, and the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Pilot Initiative, together create unprecedented opportunity for Massachusetts providers, health plans, and their partners to test and spread innovations that advance the Commonwealth’s cost containment goals while improving access to high-quality care.
HEALTH CARE INNOVATION INVESTMENT (HCII) PROGRAM
The Health Care Innovation Investment (HCII) Program provides Massachusetts payers and providers with grant funding to test and spread new innovations that help the Commonwealth meet its cost containment goals.
$5 million available to providers and health plans | Up to $750,000 per award
TELEMEDICINE PILOT INITIATIVE
The Telemedicine Pilot Initiative provides Massachusetts health care providers (including telemedicine service delivery organizations), provider organizations, or carriers funding to test the use of telemedicine to expand access to behavioral health care for high need populations.
$1 million available to providers and health plans | Up to $500,000 per award
NEONATAL ABSTINENCE SYNDROME (NAS) PILOT INITIATIVE
The Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Initiative is part of a multi-agency effort with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to improve treatment for the growing number of infants exposed to opioids in-utero and to improve retention in addiction treatment for pregnant and post-partum women.
$3.5 million available to birthing hospitals | Up to $1,000,000 per award for CHART hospitals; Up to $250,000 per award for non-CHART hospitals
For the HCII Program and the Telemedicine Pilot Initiative, the HPC is seeking applications from a broad array of Massachusetts providers and health plans. Most health plans, health care providers, or provider organizations are eligible, including primary care providers and specialists, accountable care organizations and hospitals, emergency medical services and post-acute care providers, commercial health plans, and Medicare and Medicaid managed care organizations. For the NAS Pilot Initiative, all birthing hospitals are eligible.
“These investments represent an important step forward for the HPC and the Commonwealth to address some of our most pressing health care cost and access priorities,” said David Seltz, HPC Executive Director. “Each of these programs will have direct benefit to the Massachusetts residents served by these investments, and, as importantly, will test and bring to scale new, innovative ideas that could offer tremendous lessons as we continue to press forward in our efforts to contain health care costs while improving access to high-quality care.”
The HPC believes that the most complex health care cost and access challenges are best addressed through multi-stakeholder partnership. In each of these programs, the HPC is strongly emphasizing the value of partnerships among applicants. Organizations may partner with eligible entities or proposed collaborations with community-based organizations and other non-health care organizations integral to driving the success of a proposed initiative.
These HPC investment opportunities have been developed in coordination with many stakeholders, including the Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative (Mass Digital Health), a comprehensive public-private partnership working to build a stronger and more connected digital health ecosystem across the Commonwealth.
The HPC will be hosting information sessions on each program on Tuesday, March 16, 2016 at 10 a.m. at the Health Policy Commission, 50 Milk St., Boston, and on Friday, March 25, 2016 at 10 a.m., via webinar. Additional information is available on the Innovation Investments page of the HPC website.
