A new attempt to manage multiple chronic conditions

The government wants to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy at the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) have partnered on a new educational initiative. Connected Care is a nationwide effort within fee-for-service Medicare to help healthcare professionals offer chronic care management (CCM) to support Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions between visits.

Two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries have two or more chronic conditions, and one-third have four or more chronic conditions.

“This important initiative builds on our efforts to help providers care for patients with multiple chronic conditions,” said Cara James, PhD, Director of the CMS OMH. “We are excited to be working with the Health Resources and Services Administration to reach vulnerable populations.”

As part of the initiative, the agencies developed resources to help educate and support patients, including a toolkit for healthcare professionals about CCM and implementation resources, a partner toolkit with downloadable resources and activities and patient education resources. They are available online and can be ordered for no cost at go.cms.gov/ccm. 

Nicole Stempak

Nicole was Senior Editor at I Advance Senior Care and Long Term Living Magazine 2015-2017. She has a Journalism degree from Kent State University and is finalizing a master’s degree in Information Architecture and Management. She has extensive studies in the digital user experience and in branding online media. She has worked as an editor and writer for various B2B publications, including Business Finance.