Clinics Sour on CMS After Agency Scraps 10-Year Primary C...

What’s Happening

So get this: A planned 10-year federal program called Making Care Primary was supposed to help primary care doctors by easing administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on improving patients’ health.

A year after the Trump administration eliminated the program, federal officials created an alternative plan that favors companies. Clinics Sour on CMS After Agency Scraps 10-Year Primary Care Program Only Months In By Andrew Jones Republish This Story Patricia Hall is a family doctor in the mountains of western North Carolina. (and honestly, same)

Last year the Trump administration canceled a federal program that promised up to $10 million for the network of clinics where she works.

The Details

(Andrew Jones/KFF Health News) CELO COMMUNITY, N. — On a 15-degree morning in January, a clinic in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina began to fill up with patients.

This story also ran on States Newsroom . It can be republished for free .

Why This Matters

An older couple in flannel pajamas sat together in the waiting room. A toddler waved as Patricia Hall walked past him, a stethoscope draped over her neck. The family physician waved and smiled back.

Medical professionals are taking note of this development.

Key Takeaways

• But in the privacy of a conference room, her mood shifted.
• She is often bogged down with paperwork and can’t get patients timely appointments with specialists.
• She also fears that a health care worker shortage affecting her clinic — and many others across the nation — will only get worse.

The Bottom Line

Then, in March, clinic administrators received an email during the Department of Government Efficiency’s whirlwind of federal cuts: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would soon shutter Making Care Primary, a year into what was supposed to be a 10-year program. Nearly 700 practices in eight states enrolled in Making Care Primary .

What do you think about all this?