With debate on “repeal and replace” in the rearview mirror, new leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the threat of rising health care spending undermining economic growth, policy makers are contemplating new models and incentives to speed providers toward value-based care and alternative payment models (APMs).
The policy underpinning this shift needs to ensure a robust and equitable Marketplace that offers the right incentives for participation, as well as high-quality, low-cost outcomes. Our nation has a unique opportunity to optimize value-based payment today, but it must be done using facts and real-world evidence. Unfortunately, there remain a number of myths about payment reform that shape biases and work against long-term success.
Because Premier Inc. organizes hospitals and other health care providers into data-driven, evidence-based performance-improvement collaboratives around these new payment models, we see firsthand in the data what is and isn’t working. Based on this on-the-ground-insight, this post attempts to debunk some of these myths.