Advancing payment and delivery reform in the ambulatory safety net in rural areas presents unique challenges and will require solutions specific to this context, for both primary care and behavioral health.
This case study examines the experience of Southern Prairie, a 12-county collaboration in rural southwestern Minnesota that has facilitated the integration of health care services and community supports through accountable care approaches, which includes a Medicaid accountable care organization (ACO) and a nonprofit center that implements initiatives to address major population health issues.
The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) launched its DIAMOND (Depression Improvement Across Minnesota, Offering a New Direction) model in 2008 to change how care for patients with depression was delivered and paid for in primary care.