PCMH Program Yields $155 Million In Avoided Costs

A patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program operated by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has saved an estimated $155 million in prevented claims over its first three years through June 2011.

The savings were based on calculations made from an analysis published this month in the Health Services Research Journal, according to a Michigan Blues’ news release issued on July 8. The estimate was certified through the Blues' actuary.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and University of Michigan researchers found that its PCMH model, when fully established, yielded a 3.5% higher quality measure, a 5.1% higher preventive care measure, and a $26.37 lower per member per month medical cost for adults.

Those avoided costs represent savings gained relatively early in the program's history and factor in costs at all practices in the program, not just those that had been designated as PCMH-based practices, the report noted.