Policies to Transform Primary Care: The Gateway to Better Health and Health Care

We know that advocates are always searching for opportunities to pursue proactive policies to advance person-centered care. Strengthening primary care by improving access and quality should be a critical part of that agenda when you consider that more people receive care from a primary care provider each month than any other health professional.

Primary care providers often serve as an entry point in the health care system — connecting patients to the other specialists, treatment options and even social services needed to get and stay healthy. Additionally, we know that primary care is associated with better health outcomes and lower costs — particularly for patients with complex health needs. But there are a number of problems consumers experience in trying to access this high-value care.

This report and the accompanying overview gives advocates several federal and state-level avenues for pursuing primary care reform as a proactive means of addressing poor health outcomes for consumers and high costs for all.