Health Equity Should Be A Key Value In Value-Based Payment And Delivery Reform

Garrett SchmittNo Comments,

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing health inequities in the United States. Black and Latinx Americans have experienced a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations due to economic disadvantages, structural racism, and higher rates of underlying chronic conditions. Value-based payment (VBP) structures have the potential to reduce health disparities, and during the pandemic, health…

Health Affairs Blog: Health Policy Researchers See Far More Complexity in MSSP Than Meets the Eye

Garrett SchmittNo Comments,

A team of health policy researchers is arguing that, in order to optimize the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), policy leaders need to think in more complex, nuanced ways about the framework and goals of the program for accountable care organizations (ACOs). Writing in the Health Affairs Blog, Michael McWilliams, M.D., Ph.D., and Alice Chen, Ph.D….

RECORDED WEBINAR: How Medicare Advantage Plans and ACOs Can Better Manage Risk in a Value-Based World

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 Managing risk requires collaboration among the clinical and operations teams to develop effective approaches to improving the quality and cost of care. Experienced Medicare Advantage plans can share valuable lessons with organizations interested in improving their ability to meet clinical and financial performance targets, and managing downside risk. Join us for a discussion with…

Risky Business: ACO checklist for 2020 includes embracing new payment models and physician re-engagement

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The term accountable care organization (ACO) dates back to at least 2006. The Affordable Care Act then made ACOs a fast-growing trend thanks to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launching its Shared Savings Program in 2012. Since then, ACOs have been at the forefront of the value-based care model transition, taking incremental steps…

MA value-based plan enrollment tripling for 2020

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Dive Brief: The number of Medicare Advantage members enrolled in plans with value-based payment designs more than tripled from 2019 to 2020, CMS said Thursday. Approximately 1.2 million beneficiaries joined plans in the Value-Based Insurance Design Model for coverage next year offered by 14 MA organizations across 30 states and Puerto Rico. That’s up from…

Treat ACOs And MA Plans Equally? By All Means

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) saved Medicare $739.4 million in 2018, up from $314 million in savings the year before. Those savings were achieved despite policies that Rooke-Ley and colleagues argue in a recent Health Affairs Blog post disadvantage ACOs relative to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Their analysis concludes that ACOs cut costs…

The Hedge Bet For Risk Is Patient Experience

Garrett SchmittNo Comments,

Creating a good Patient Experience in health care has gained little traction, despite being touted as one of the Triple Aim’s key goals in Value-Based Health Care. Health systems have been more focused on how to increase patients via health plan negotiations and consolidating regional providers, rather than focusing on the slower paced process of…

ACOs Save More Compared to Medicare Advantage, Report Finds

Garrett SchmittNo Comments,

The Medicare Shared Savings Program, which governs the majority of Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs), and Medicare Advantage are gaining in popularity. But the former is saving taxpayers, while the latter is incurring costs, a new report in Health Affairs finds. “Our examination of the literature indicates that Medicare Advantage ‘costs’ Medicare; that is, when a beneficiary joins MA,…