Colorado is partnering with Medicare to pay doctors based on whether they can keep patients healthy. But will it work?

Colorado is one of four states partnering with Medicare to try to pay doctors based on whether they can keep their patients healthy, but it’s not clear how they’re going to do that.

The idea that insurers can keep costs down by encouraging the kind of care that keeps people from needing costlier procedures down the road isn’t new, and Medicare has tried a mix of incentives and financial punishments over the last decade.

Most haven’t generated significant savings or shown they improve patients’ health, and the American health care system still primarily relies on billing for individual services.