Essential Community Provider
The American Academy of Family Physicians supports the concept of Essential Community Provider (ECP) as a means of protecting access to essential services, delivered by qualified providers, and achieving favorable health outcomes for otherwise marginalized populations.
It is appropriate for federal and state governments to ensure the availability and accessibility of essential health care services to predominantly low-income, medically underserved populations by requiring payers to contract with a sufficinet number and an appropriate geographic distribution of qualified local providers.
Such contracts should specify updated terms and conditions, and market-appropriate rates, including pay-for-value incentives, as appropriate to the circumstances.
(1995) (2015 COD)