Leading health care organizations are calling on Congress and President Donald Trump's administration to move health care from a failing, fee-for-service system to a more patient-centered model.
This movement has been slowly evolving for the past 15 years with accountable care organization models saving Medicare $1.29 billion since 2012.
“I am confident that the migration toward value-based care will continue regardless of what happens in the next few months,” former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt said. “There is a remarkable amount of bipartisan agreement when it comes to payment and delivery reforms, as evidenced by legislation like [the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015], and the Republican Congress has established a clear pattern of supporting the transition from fee-for-service to value payment.”
Health care groups that are calling for this system have developed 10 policy principles to move toward a more patient-centered care system. They believe it is essential for health care teams to encourage their patients to make health care decisions based on facts and conversations with health care workers.
Secondly, they want patients to help develop a system to measure provider performance to be reported by all public and private payers.
The third principle is to find better ways to accurately complete claims in a timely matter. The groups want doctors and insurance companies to acknowledge that socioeconomic status is important when expecting payment. Along with the acknowledgment, payment models need to provide incentives for greater patient participation in their own care. The groups want waivers from fee-for-service to be expanded for greater use among those with socioeconomic problems. They want Congress and the administration to focus on payment models which are collaborative between payers and health care providers.
The proponents of the plan have also suggested new medical treatments should be more accessible and reduced in cost. The groups want private and public investment in the transparency and evidence-based benefits of new payment models so health care providers can learn how to properly implement them into their practices.
Finally, the groups ask that private and public sector programs be aligned, working together to make the value-based payment system sustainable.
