Group of NY Docs like Budget Prescription

A coalition of primary care doctors in New York hails the recent budget as a success, for offering changes to the state's health care system and for implementing new primary care initiatives.
The group, Primary Care Coalition, acknowledged that some of the changes adopted will be difficult, but said great strides have been reached in focusing on primary care, applauded bringing health care decisions to the people and lauded the creation of incentives for doctors to provide the "right care."
Initiatives they were particularly fond of included:

• Expansion of Patient-Centered Medical Homes, so one million New Yorkers, including 600,000 of the highest-need patients, will have access to better coordinated care;
• Accountable Care Organizations that will align financial incentives with quality care and allow providers to come together and share responsibility for their patients' health;
• Incentives for telemedicine to expand access to vital health services for patients in remote areas;
• Resources for merging and restructuring safety net facilities to ensure low-income patients get the right care in the right settings; and
• An Office of Patient-Centered Primary Care Initiatives, with the mission to significantly expand quality primary care throughout New York.

The Primary Care Coalition is comprised of the Community Health Care Association of New York State; the Primary Care Development Corporation; the New York State Area Health Education Center System; the American College of Physicians, New York Chapter; and the New York State Academy of Family Physicians