WASHINGTON – Up to $500 million in Affordable Care Act funding will be awarded to help hospitals and providers improve care with new technology-backed programs, training and monitoring, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid  announced June 22.

The funding, part of the public-private Partnership for Patients program, will be awarded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center.

The program aims to stop millions of preventable injuries and complications related to healthcare acquired conditions and unnecessary readmissions. 

"Since the Partnership for Patients was announced, we have had an overwhelming response from hospitals, doctors, employers, and other partners who want to be a part of this historic effort to improve patient safety," said CMS Administrator Donald M. Berwick, MD. "We are now looking to contract with local and statewide entities that can foster and support hospitals' efforts to improve healthcare and reduce harm to patients."

The Partnership's two goals are reducing harm in hospital settings by 40 percent and reducing hospital readmissions by 20 percent over three years. To achieve these goals, the Partnership plans to contract with large healthcare systems, associations, state organizations, or other interested parties to support hospitals in redesigning care processes to reduce harm. 

"Hospital Engagement Contractors" will be asked to conduct the following:

• Design intensive programs to teach and support hospitals in making care safer;
• Conduct trainings for hospitals and care providers;
• Provide technical assistance for hospitals and care providers; and
• Establish and implement a system to track and monitor hospital progress in meeting quality improvement goals.

 In addition to the Hospital Engagement Contractors, CMS will also be working with other contractors to develop and share ideas and practices that improve patient safety. These efforts include work with patients and families to understand their thoughts on how to best improve patient safety and transitions between different healthcare settings – such as when a patient is discharged from a hospital to a nursing home.
These contracts make available the first round of funding – which will ultimately total up to $500 million – that the Innovation Center has committed to this effort. Solicitations for proposals are available on the Federal Business Opportunities website at: www.fbo.gov.

When the Partnership for Patients was announced, the Obama administration committed up to $1 billion in Affordable Care Act. At the time of the announcement, up to $500 million was made available through the Community-based Care Transitions Program to ensure patients safely transition between settings of care