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News Clips
Healthcare Innovation (3/27) How Should Health Systems Discuss Value-Based Care with Patients? – How should health systems and insurers talk to policymakers, patients and plan members about the concept of value-based care? That was one of the questions addressed by a recent panel discussion hosted by the Duke Margolis Institute of Health Policy. Purva Rawal, former chief strategy officer for the Center for Medicare and Medicare Innovation, noted that we now have over 50% of Medicare beneficiaries in these accountable, longitudinal care relationships. "Our hope is that we're developing models and care programs where people are seen as a whole person in the way that Natalie described, and that all of their needs are being assessed and their care is being coordinated.”
Becker's Physician Practice (3/21) The private practice crossroads – A funding bill recently passed by the House of Representatives locks in a 2.8% Medicare physician pay cut for 2025, perpetuating long-held concerns about the sustainability of independent practice and the future of patient care. “As reimbursement rates fail to keep pace with rising practice costs, how can physician practices sustain themselves long-term?” John Donovan, MD, an otolaryngologist at ENT Salem (Oregon), told Becker’s. “Private practices cannot sustain themselves indefinitely given these conditions.” In addition to reimbursement rates, there are other areas of concern and potential avenues of relief for independent practices and their patients: staffing and operational costs.
Modern Healthcare (3/27) Why more providers are enlisting value-based care consultants – Growing interest in value-based care is prompting more health systems to hire consultants to smooth the transition from the traditional fee-for-service payment model. Fee-for-service reimbursement has reigned as the go-to way of delivering and paying for care. Value-based care is intended to produce better patient outcomes while controlling costs because it focuses on preventative care. Primary care is seen as a good starting point for the adoption of value-based care because it is often the first point of contact between a doctor and patient. By focusing on preventative case and coordinating with other providers, the theory is it will lead to better overall patient health and lessen the need for more complex, more expensive care.
Journal of Health Economics (3/27) Does Physician-Hospital Vertical Integration Signal Care-Coordination? – The sharp growth in physician groups being purchased by hospitals has sparked extensive policy debate, with little evidence on the merits of such integration. Moving to a more integrated market causes an increase in care coordination indices. Specifically, moving to an area with more specialty care integration causes an increase in team referrals between primary and specialty care, less lab and imaging use, less out-of-network care, and reductions in spending. Moving to a market with more integrated primary care causes an increase in preventive care, decreased inpatient use by women, but an increase in spending.
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