§280g–12 Primary Care Extension Program

Summary

The federal government must create a Primary Care Extension Program run by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to help primary care providers learn and use prevention, health promotion, chronic disease care, mental and behavioral health (including substance abuse prevention and treatment), and proven treatments. The program uses local community health workers called Health Extension Agents to link practices with community resources and help redesign care. Health Extension Agent: a local community health worker who helps practices improve care and connect to services. Primary care provider: a clinician who gives most day-to-day care, preventive services, and builds ongoing relationships with patients. States can get competitive grants to set up State Hubs that include the State health department, the State Medicaid office if different, the State Medicare office, and primary care training programs; other groups may join. Hubs must work with quality improvement groups, set up local Primary Care Extension Agencies, fund and network them, and share best practices. Local agencies must help practices become patient-centered medical homes, run learning communities, join a national network, and make a plan to become financially sustainable after an initial 6-year period. Grants can be 6-year program grants or 2-year planning grants. States will be evaluated at the end of the grant and can get more support if their results and sustainability plans are satisfactory. No more than 10 percent of grant money can pay administrative costs, and grant funds cannot pay for direct patient care. The Secretary must consult other federal agencies (for example, CDC, SAMHSA, HRSA, NIH, ONC, Indian Health Service, and the USDA Cooperative Extension). Congress authorized $120,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012, and such sums as needed for fiscal years 2013 through 2014.