Collaborative Health Plan Performance Improvement Projects (PIPs)

Minnesota health plans that offer state public health care programs (e.g., Medicaid, dual-eligible) implement performance improvement projects (PIPs) to help improve the health of public program members and to reduce disparities for low-income Minnesotans. The health plans collectively engage Stratis Health to manage and coordinate the projects and help the health plans achieve more impact by working together. The projects have covered a wide range of health topics identified as priorities for improvement including preventive care, chronic illnesses management, and transitions in care. Each project typically runs for three years and helps meet Minnesota Department of Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements.

Health plans in Minnesota have a long history of collaboration that supports health care improvement for low-income members. The original three Minnesota Senior Health Options demonstration plans — Hennepin Health (formerly Metropolitan Health Plan), Medica, and UCare — have collaborated since 2000 on joint performance improvement projects. Since 2006, health plans offering state public program products have hired Stratis Health to coordinate their collaborative efforts to develop and implement PIPs, with six health plans currently participating. Past projects include depression, diabetes, heart failure, optimal medication management, and pneumococcal vaccination.

Actions

• Provide facilitation and consultation, as an independent expert resource, to the health plans in developing, implementing, and evaluating each of the improvement initiatives on a recurring three-year cycle across a wide range of topics and public program populations (dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid members (older adults and disabled), as well as Medicaid MNCare (families and children)
• Host access to resources created through the PIP projects on our website, including recorded webinar educational sessions, clinicians and care coordinator toolkits, and member education materials

We make lives better by…

Fostering a collaborative approach to performance improvement across health plans to achieve greater impact and efficiency for complex and vulnerable patient populations:

• Support aligned and coordinated efforts among Minnesota health plans that offer state public programs to engage care coordinators and clinicians
• Ensure that health plan members receive preventive services, have support in managing chronic conditions, and receive high-quality care