The SIM Initiative provides federal support to states to develop and test innovative health care delivery and payment models aiming to increase quality of care and decrease health care costs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contracted with RTI International, the National Academy for State Health Policy, and the Urban Institute to conduct an independent evaluation of the six states – Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont – that received the first round of SIM Initiative funding. This report presents findings from site visits, a survey of primary care providers, and medical claims data analyses for Medicaid, Medicare, and commercially insured populations for each of the six states. The report also provides cross-state analyses of the strategies and policy levers states are using to transform their health care systems and the progress they have made.

Read the full publication here (leaving Urban's web site)