The Quality Incentive Program (QIP) is a simple concept with an ambitious goal: driving health care innovation by rewarding Coordinated Care Organizations with funding if they meet quality measures. The money CCOs earn is then reinvested back into their communities, further amplifying the program’s benefits.

Since the program started in 2013, no CCO has reaped the rewards from these incentives as consistently as Yamhill Community Care (YCCO), demonstrating an unmatched level of quality and excellence.

Going Above and Beyond

YCCO serves more than 35,000 members in Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties. It is the only CCO to achieve at minimum 100% of QIP dollars every year since the program’s creation and averaged a whopping 110.18% over the last 12 years overall — the highest mark of any CCO. The total allocation over 12 years exceeds $75 million.

“These results reflect the day-to-day work of our providers and staff and the quality of care our members receive,” said Seamus McCarthy, President & CEO of YCCO. “This ensures our members receive excellent care, and the twelve-year record is a testament to their dedication.”

For CCOs that don’t earn their full QIP allocation, the money doesn’t just disappear. Rather, it goes into a statewide “Challenge Pool,” where other CCOs compete for additional funding. This is how YCCO has been able to exceed 100% of its QIP allocation.

The money then goes back into the community through one of two avenues:

1. Value-based Payments to Providers: The largest share (typically 90%) goes directly to health care providers who helped to achieve the quality measures.
2. Community Prevention & Wellness Fund: About 10% of metrics dollars goes toward evidence based primary prevention through grants to organizations supporting mental health, youth development, housing stability, and culturally specific wellness programs.

Partnership With Providers

An essential part of YCCO’s model, McCarthy said, is how local clinicians and community-based organizations are constantly and intentionally involved in critical decision-making.

Dr. Jackie Eriksen, Family Medicine Physician at Physicians Medical Center in McMinnville, said this collaborative approach — such as including physicians on YCCO’s own Quality and Clinical Advisory Panel, and its Board of Directors — creates a culture of success.

“By working collaboratively to achieve ambitious health quality goals, we see a system come into focus that works for members and providers while getting the most bang-for-buck out of the taxpayer-funded OHP system,” Eriksen said.

Dr. Laura Byerly, Chief Medical Officer for the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, said metrics dollars “drive change around quality and access,” adding that reimbursing providers at a higher rate for quality care allows them to increase their focus on wellness and still maintain sustainable reimbursement.

Why It Matters

Among the measures evaluated each year by the nine-member QIP Metrics and Scoring Committee include:

• Childhood immunization status
• Cigarette smoking prevalence
• Colorectal cancer screening
• Controlling high blood pressure
• Effective contraceptive use
• Adoption of electronic health records
• Postpartum care rate
• Preventive dental or oral health services
• Meaningful language access
• Follow-up after hospitalization for mental illness

In addition, the QIP targets screening and referral for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), which can include access to safe housing, education, and nutritious food.

Simply put, when these targets are met, communities benefit.

“We are deeply grateful to our providers and YCCO staff for their extraordinary work over the years. Through strategic reinvestment, collaborative decision-making, and strong partnerships with local providers, YCCO has built a model CCO system: one that delivers exceptional outcomes, strengthens the community, and ensures OHP dollars go where they matter most.”

— Seamus McCarthy, President & CEO, Yamhill Community Care