Among Community Health Centers, Higher Medical Home Ratings = Higher Operating Costs

Among community health centers, those rated higher as patient-centered medical homes (PCMH), also had higher operating costs. An assessment of six aspects of PCMHs found that an overall PCMH score increase of 10 points on a 0 to 100 scale was associated with a $2.26 increase in per-patient per month operating cost, about a 4.6% increase. The per patient per month increase would translate into $500,000 in additional costs for community health centers operating as a PCMH. These are findings of “Association Between Patient-Centered Medical Home Rating and Operating Cost at Federally Funded Health . . .