Direct primary care (DPC) is fast becoming an accepted alternative to fee-for-service payment in the private market, but it has yet to find its way into Medicare. Over two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries have two or more chronic conditions. This is a population that would benefit greatly from high quality primary care, but the program is still built on the fee-for-service model of payment, which creates barriers to low-cost, frequent communication between physicians and their patients.CMS could test ideas like DPC to see if they can deliver better care at a lower cost to the Medicare population. |