Primary Care Transformation

Health care should not just be about treating illness. It should be about preventing it, building long-term healing relationships, and improving overall health outcomes. So, when we talk about how to extend life expectancy and improve health at a sustainable cost, the answer is simple: double down on primary care. More

Copublished with the Robert Graham Center and the Dr. John W. Hatch Center for Science The issue The 2025 US Primary Care… More

I’m running late in clinic. I’ve just had a complex consult, and I have three patients waiting downstairs. I have to document the appointment that has just taken place and put the care plan into action, including by sending urgent referrals. I feel it’s not always appropriate to type away while speaking to patients, which can come at the cost of rapport. But when I document asynchronously, I am left playing catch up.  More

Decades of research confirms the safety, quality, and effectiveness of care provided by NPs, including care for complex patients, and their acceptance and approval by patients. Yet challenges remain in recruiting and retaining NPs in primary care. More

The Trump administration released a draft Medicare rule this summer that might have been missed amid HR1’s large funding cuts to Medicaid and the health insurance marketplaces. But the administration’s proposed changes to the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee schedule are an important step toward strengthening primary care — and following through on its commitment to “Make America Healthy Again.”  More

This report provides state leaders with a range of policy options states can use to strengthen primary care across geopolitically diverse contexts. More

The number of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the United States quadrupled from 91,000 in 2007 to 431,000 in 2024. But does this remarkable growth result in improved access to primary care where it is needed most? More

Integrated care functions as a treatment and prevention strategy, where healthy behaviors are established well before they turn into complex, expensive chronic conditions.  More

This report offers community health centers, their partners, policymakers, and others a place to start in addressing challenges to implementing value-based payment models, particularly as the safety net faces potential cuts in federal funding for Medicaid. More

To inform state-level primary care payment policies, we reviewed recent policies advancing primary care payment reform in the commercial sector and conducted interviews with 50 stakeholders in five pioneering states: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Washington. More