News Clips
McKinsey & Company: (7/19) – Two years of the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted the dynamics in the US health care value chain. The acceleration of value-based care models and increasing application of technology across the health care industry is something that will continue beyond the pandemic. The progression of value-based care and related risk payments as well as digitization of the value chain is shifting value creation across, rather than within, traditional health care subsectors.
KHN: (7/18) – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is primed to more aggressively combat consolidation in the health care industry than it has in past years. Last year, President Joe Biden ordered the FTC and other federal agencies to promote market competition in health care and other industries. Hospital mergers and acquisitions had left the 10 largest health care systems in control of a quarter of the market and led to the closure of hospitals in rural and other underserved areas, putting pressure on physicians to sign contracts that prevent them from working for competitors in the same market or state.
KHN: (7/18) – The Biden Administration has ordered the FTC to combat consolidation in the health care industry, saying that it is driving up prices for consumers and limiting their access to care. The FTC has signaled that it will be looking at traditional mergers among hospitals and other health care providers, and is interested in some legal theories of antitrust enforcement that have been less frequently used. Kaiser Health News spoke to the Assistant Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition on these efforts in this interview.
Medical Economics: (7/18) – Primary care physicians remain in demand, but the starting salaries for specialists continue to outpace those of primary care physicians. While the average starting salary for internal medicine physicians rose five percent, it did not land on the top 10 list for physician average starting salaries. However, primary care physicians “still have an important role to play” for care coordination for older patients, along with implementing value-based reimbursement models and accountable care organizations built on those models.
Medical Economics: (7/18) – Payers and providers in a value-based contract share the goals of managing care quality, costs, and outcomes for a given population. Unfortunately, access to and impact of available patient and member data remain significant hurdles. Many practices have concluded that the cost of establishing data management infrastructure exceeds the benefit of participating in value-based agreements. This article discusses various solutions to overcome those challenges so that both payers and providers can reap the benefits of value-based care.
Health Affairs: (7/15) – CMS leaders recently penned a Perspective piece that reflects on the past and lays out a future vision for accountable care organizations (ACOs). The authors of this blog propose the Administration offer an opportunity for Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACOs to participate in primary care hybrid payment models, as offering optional, partial capitation payments within total-cost-of-care models such as MSSP can effectively drive value transformation.
STAT News: (7/14) – The pandemic has made clearer than ever the vital roles that primary care providers play in communities, yet many independent practices are under financial strain and are being acquired by hospitals or private equity firms. A meaningful step forward to address this would be to empower primary care with flexible, adequate payments and technology so all practices can integrate physical, mental, and social supports, and partner with other service sectors.
American Medical Association: (7/14) – In this episode of AMA Thriving in Private Practice, AMA’s vice president of professional satisfaction Christine Sinsky, MD, joins the conversation to discuss how burnout shows up in private practices, how the AMA is addressing burnout and tools to improve physician well-being.
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