The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Health Project released a White Paper August 19, 2014 “Transitioning from Volume to Value: Opportunities and Challenges for Health Care Delivery System Reform” at http://bipartisanpolicy.org examining some of the barriers and potential solutions to moving toward more organized systems of care in light of the current legislative and regulatory environment.
Earlier this year, the Senate finance Committee, House Ways and Means Committee, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee reached agreement on legislation that would replace the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) physician payment system.
The legislation would retain a modified Fee-for-Service (FFS) system with a value-based incentive structure, and provide incentives to go to physicians to move away from FFS and participate in alternative models of care and payment.
“Recent legislative efforts to replace the Medicare SGR physician payment system has provided a real opportunity to have a bipartisan conversation about alternative systems of care that will help improve care and reduce costs,” said Katherine Hayes, BPC Director of Health Policy.
“Regulatory changes in the structure of existing alternative systems of care such as bundled payments, patient-centered medical homes, and accountable care organizations are needed to improve the quality and value of our nation’s healthcare system,” said Senator Tom Daschle, Co-Chair of BPC’s Health Project.
The White Paper suggests that the success of a reformed delivery system will depend on how we do the following:
- Galvanize widespread participation among providers
- Engage and incentivize patients to participate in alternative systems of care
- Construct meaningful quality measurements and fair financial benchmarks
- Improve quality of care while keeping costs lower than the current FFS system
- Incentivize clinicians to change the way they practice to eventually share in both savings and overages
- Structure new models of care that best engage and pay specialists
- Work to establish alternative systems of care in rural areas