ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been awarded a contract to help improve the quality of care and physical and behavioral health outcomes for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with moderate to severe mental illness or substance use disorder. Under the $73 million contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Innovation, AIR experts will support the implementation and monitoring of the Innovations in Behavioral Health (IBH) model.
One-quarter of Medicare enrollees and 40 percent of adult Medicaid enrollees experience a mental illness or substance use disorder (SUD), and these people are more likely to have unmet medical and health-related social needs, experience poorer health, and die prematurely.
The IBH model aims to integrate and coordinate care within specialty behavioral health practices to address Medicaid and Medicare patients’ behavioral and physical health, as well as health-related social needs such as housing, food, transportation, etc. People receiving services from this model can expect to receive more coordinated, whole-person care, potentially resulting in fewer emergency department visits and improved quality of care and behavioral and physical health outcomes.
AIR will play a key role in implementing and monitoring this innovative Medicare-Medicaid payment model in eight states. Under this contract, AIR will:
Support CMS and states in developing methodologies related to beneficiary attribution, quality measurement, performance scoring, and payment incentives Provide technical assistance to states and behavioral health clinics for model implementation Collect data, score performance, and calculate model payments Monitor quality of care, outcomes, and unexpected outcomes.
AIR’s partners on the project include General Dynamics Information Technology, Health Management Associates, iCare, and clinical consultant Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, MD.
“AIR is pleased to partner with the CMS Innovation Center to support solutions that deliver integrated, coordinated, whole-person care and improve outcomes for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees,” said Timothy Hill, senior vice president of AIR’s health division. “This supports CMS’s goals to improve quality, equity, and outcomes for people with mental illness and substance use disorders and address health-related social needs. It also aligns with AIR’s mission to use evidence to create a better, more equitable world.”
The IBH contract is the latest in a series of new projects in which AIR is supporting government agencies to bring innovation and systemic improvements to the health care system.
For more information about AIR’s research and technical assistance activities in the health field, please visit the AIR website.
About AIR
Founded in 1946, the American Institute for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and provides technical assistance domestically and internationally in the areas of education, health, and the workforce. AIR’s work is driven by a mission to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AIR has offices throughout the United States and internationally. For more information, visit www.air.org.
