Value-based care not likely to end payer/provider financial spats

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. 

But healthcare observers shouldn't hold their breath for that change yet. Experts largely agree that value-based contracting will not be a panacea for healthcare payment spats, and these types of disagreements will persist in a value-based reimbursement setting. What will change will be the sticking points between insurers and providers—issues such as per-member per-month fees and performance measures, for example. 

“It'll just change what they argue about, not whether they argue,” said Mark Pauly, a health economist at the University of Pennsylvania.