Dramatic Increase In Payment To Physicians For Quality Care

CNBC reports, “a new National Scorecard on Payment Reform shows commercial health plans have dramatically shifted how they pay physicians and hospitals, with 40 percent of their payments now designed to encourage health care providers to deliver higher-quality and, in some cases, more affordable care.” This number was just 11 percent in 2013.

However, 60 percent of payments are still based on the fee-for-service model—the model health reformers are trying to move away from.

The program director of the group conducting the survey, Andrea Caballero, says, “the use of pay-for-performance just jumped after being around for more than a decade…With today’s pressure to reform payment, health plans and providers are building on a method they know, despite limited evidence it improves care or saves money. If we hope to see advances in quality and affordability in the long-term, payers may need to take payment methods to the next level, pairing bonuses with financial risk to providers.”

Summary by MedicalGroups.com

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