COEUR d'ALENE - Quietly in December, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare received a federal grant for $40 million.

The money, from the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, will fund the implementation of the Idaho State Healthcare Innovation Plan, known as SHIP.

SHIP will redesign Idaho's health care system by strengthening primary and preventive care through what are called "patient-centered medical homes."

"Patient-centered medical homes are primary care clinics that have transformed their practices to a patient-centered care model," said Niki Forbing-Orr, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health.

The team-based, proactive approach focuses on keeping patients healthy through preventive care rather than providing episodic care only when patients are ill, Forbing-Orr said. The transition from a health care clinic to a patient-centered medical home takes one to two years, she said.

Grant funding will be used to provide training, technical assistance and coaching to assist practices in the transformation.

There are approximately 30 of these "medical homes" participating in the Idaho Medical Home Collaborative Multi-payer pilot.

"These clinics are at varying stages of transformation, with several having reached Level 3 of national recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance," Forbing-Orr said. "These clinics are being paid differently for the care they are providing to patients with chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension."

The grant funds will be spent during a four-year period that started in February.

About 90 percent of the grant funds will be contracted out, though the department hasn't hired any contractors yet, Forbing-Orr said.

The remaining funds will be used by Health and Welfare to manage the grant and contracts and facilitate the work of the Idaho Healthcare Coalition, which is the governor-appointed group that oversees the SHIP in partnership with Health and Welfare.