The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) applauds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) goal for 30 percent of Medicare payments to be in alternative payment models by the end of 2016 and 50 percent by the end of 2018.
HHS’s commitment to alternative payment models, like Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and bundled payments, as well as innovative care delivery models, like the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), signifies a positive shift in payment reform policy that moves away from the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) system.
A large payer and health system in California are embroiled in a bitter feud over expired contract terms, the type of fight all too common in the fee-for-service world. With healthcare switching to value-based care, some had hoped these types of financial squabbles would disappear as the interests of providers and payers became more closely aligned on reducing costs.
According to a new report, the role primary care physicians play in the payment side of the health care landscape is becoming more important. The Affordable Care Act is expected to add 25 million primary care appointments annually, all of which will be looking for quality care at a lower cost. This gives primary care a unique power to put an end to fee-for-service practices.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Obamacare’s launch, the pundits continue to argue over whether or not it’s working. Meanwhile, something much bigger is happening. Whatever you think of its merits, the Affordable Care Act is re-shaping American healthcare, radically altering business models that hadn’t changed in decades.
Today, Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR) unveiled some potentially exciting news: Our 2014 National Scorecard on Payment Reform tells us 40 percent of commercial sector payments to doctors and hospitals now flow through value-oriented payment methods, defined as payment methods designed to improve quality and reduce waste. This is a dramatic increase since 2013 when the figure was just 11 percent.
IT may have been the most influential magazine article of the past decade. In June of 2009, the doctor and writer Atul Gawande published a piece in The New Yorker called “The Cost Conundrum,” which examined why the small border city of McAllen, Tex., was the most expensive place for health care in the United States.
