ATLANTA (July 27, 2022) – The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) announced the final approval of a value-based, hospital-led payment program called Georgia’s Advancing Innovation to Deliver Equity (GA-AIDE). The program focuses on improving health outcomes by supporting preventive care, chronic disease management, children’s and women’s health, and improving health care by increasing Medicaid funding to support eligible safety-net providers.
The GA-AIDE program uses targeted payments to improve the quality of patient care provided by Georgia’s single largest provider of Medicaid services, Grady Memorial Hospital, and Georgia’s state medical education center, Augusta University Medical Center. Part of the payout will be based on achieving defined quality metrics. The project will serve as a model for DCH to evaluate national improvements and demonstrate measurable progress in reducing health inequalities.
“This approval marks an important milestone for Georgia Medicaid because it directs new funding toward achieving health care improvements and equity,” says DCH Commissioner Caylee Noggle. “Our partners, Grady Memorial and Augusta University Medical Center, will have more resources and flexibility to address health disparities that affect sustainability, sustainability, and the health of women and children.”
Under GA-AIDE, which received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Grady Memorial Hospital and Augusta University Medical Center will benefit from increased Medicaid payments for services provided to Medicaid members through the Georgia care plan.
This project is also expected to release more than 100 million dollars of Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funds that can be transferred to other appropriate hospitals. DCH has similar payment programs pending with CMS aimed at helping teaching hospitals and private hospitals. The department also plans to introduce a state reform program that will redistribute DSH funding to small, rural hospitals in Georgia. If approved as drafted, these joint programs would result in more than $800 million in federal funding going to hospitals around the country to improve access to care, health and equity, and health care workers.
“As the only public medical education center in Georgia, our mission is to provide the highest quality of health care to the entire state,” says Brooks A. Keel, Ph.D., President of Augusta University and Acting CEO of Augusta University Health System. “We are grateful for the great efforts that Governor Kemp and Commissioner Noggle have put into this program, as their support is critical in helping our health care system become more affordable, improve access to care and fulfill our mission as a health care provider.”
“We applaud the wise leadership shown by our federal and state partners in developing and approving a new program that will allow Grady to make meaningful strides in providing quality care to the communities we serve,” says John M. Haupert, President & CEO of Grady Health System. “With the approval of GA-AIDE, we can increase funding in critical areas such as access to health care, infant and maternal care, and cancer screening.”
