The Path to Coordinated Federal Leadership to Strengthen Primary Health Care

In response to pressing health care challenges in the US, including health inequities, pandemic response and resilience, the opioid epidemic, and a mental health crisis, the 2021 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report proposed significant reforms. They suggested establishing a Secretary’s Council on Primary Care, advised by a Primary Care Advisory Committee, to help coordinate and guide federal primary care efforts, as current efforts lack centralized leadership. This initiative, bolstered by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Initiative to Strengthen Primary Health Care, requires considerable resource commitment and a multiagency effort for its successful execution. However, it would also require congressional backing to establish a more permanent Office of Primary Care for long-term success. The proposed council would engage with significant health stakeholders and guide six core interagency activities including assessing federal primary care payment and workforce sufficiency, coordinating research investment, addressing technology and data needs, promoting alignment of payer policies, and establishing meaningful metrics for assessing primary care quality.