Health Care Homes
Background Information

The Health Care Homes (HCH) program is one of the centerpieces of Minnesota's health reform initiative. Through its focus on redesign of care delivery and meaningful engagement of patients in their care, Health Care Homes is transforming care - and lives - for millions of Minnesotans.

The name "Health Care Homes" acknowledges a critical shift needed to improve health in Minnesota. The shift is from a purely medical model of care delivery to a focus on linking primary care with wellness, prevention, self-management and community resources.

Program Goals

The goals of the model are to:

Continue building a strong primary care foundation to ensure all Minnesotans have the opportunity to receive team-based, coordinated, patient-centered care.
Increase care coordination and collaboration between primary care clinicians and community resources to support whole person care and facilitate the broader goals of improving population health and health equity.
Improve the quality, experience, and value of care.

Health Care Homes and Health Reform

A Health Care Home is an approach to primary care in which primary care providers, families and patients work in partnership to improve health outcomes and quality of life for individuals with chronic or complex health conditions.

The development of Health Care Homes in Minnesota is driven by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Triple Aim, an initiative to simultaneously achieve the following goals:

Improve the individual experience of care.
Improve the health of the population.
Improve affordability by containing the per capita cost of providing care.

Click on a topic for more detailed information.

Health Care Homes Statutes

The Notice of Adoption for the Rules Governing Health Care Homes was published in the State Register on October 3, 2022. You may review the Notice of Adoption on the Minnesota State Register website, State Register, Volume 47 Number 14 (PDF).

View the HCH Adopted Rules on the Office of the Revisor of Statues, Minnesota Administrative Rules website CHAPTER 4764, HEALTH CARE HOMES.

The Health Care Home is a transformative change in the delivery of primary care. The design principles for Health Care Homes in Minnesota focus broadly on the continuum of “health” and incorporate expectations for engagement of the patient, family and community. Fundamentally, the Health Care Home is a change in the patient-provider relationship augmented by financial structures and measurement of results. Expectations for transformative change must be sufficient to achieve these results. Among these expectations are:

Patient- and family-centered care are foundational to the Minnesota Health Care Homes program. Patients/families/consumers will be involved in all aspects of program development.
Quality improvement teams are required at the practice level. Health Care Homes will have an active practice-based quality improvement team that includes patients/families as equal team members.
Learning collaboratives support and foster practice-level change. Participation is required.
Financial structures must be aligned to promote this transformation and must include adequate risk adjustment for medical and non-medical complexity.
Recertification is outcome-based. In the certification and recertification process, a balance will be sought between fidelity to the model (criteria) and flexibility for innovation. A goal of the program is to maximize clinic flexibility to achieve all of the outcomes.

Health Care Homes Infographic 2016 (PDF)
Health Care Homes Overview (PDF)
Health Care Homes Provider Quick Card (PDF)
Health Care Homes Patient Quick Card (PDF)

Business Case: Employers (PDF)
Business Case: Clinics (PDF)

RFI Analysis of Health Care Homes Stakeholders Feb 2017 (PDF)

Health Care Homes Business Case Outcomes and Results 2016 (PDF)

Visit the Health Care Homes Learning Collaborative webpage for online courses and resources designed for Health Care Homes stakeholders.

What do primary providers participating in the Medical Home Learning Collaborative say about medical homes?
- “I personally have found that a small percentage of my patients take up a disproportionately large percentage of my time. Try as I might, I have always struggled to do a good job with their care. Medical home has helped me greatly - both to manage my schedule, and provide better care!”
  Gordon Harvieux, MD Duluth, MN
What do families of children with special health care needs say about medical homes?
- “Having access to longer appointment times for the complex children is not only beneficial for the family but also to the physician because they can give a quality visit without having to run behind the rest of the day. The clinic has also gotten handicap accessible doors and a wheelchair scale, which have made our visits to the clinic less stressful and more comfortable.”
  Ashley (Camerynn’s mom)
- “The Medical Home Project is bringing strength, faith in the medical community and hope in what can be possible. Miriam has spent many days in hospitals, at appointments and innumerable hours in therapies and with 'ologists. The Medical Home Project is making these times smoother in transitions, appointments easier to attend for her, and a constant support for the family on the "what next" in medical care for Miriam. We have a care plan that is always with us, and the hospital and clinic are aware of the special needs…and openly give Miriam that much needed "extra" time and gentleness. All these little changes are making a significant difference not only for Miriam, but for our family.”
  Jennifer (Miriam’s Mom)

Health Care Homes Strategic Planning