Dive Brief:
- Anthem is committing $38 billion in its move away from fee-for-service to value-based payments. The company, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, aims to increase its value-based payments to $65 billion by late 2018.
- "We're changing the way providers and insurers interact with one another to lower medical costs," Anthem chief executive officer Joe Swedish told Forbes. "Currently, we have more than $38 billion in spend tied to value-based contracts, representing 30% of our commercial claims and approximately 40,000 providers."
- Anthem's move toward value-based payments is part of a trend among private payers that aims to improve healthcare while reining in costs by rewarding health outcomes and quality of care, as opposed to treatments and procedures.
Dive Insight:
Everyone is hopping on the value-based pay announcement train this week. The Obama administration on Monday announced goals for overhauling the Medicare payment system to reward quality over volume. For the first time, HHS tied specific benchmarks to the overhaul, announcing that it is aiming for for 30% of payments for traditional Medicare benefits to be tied to alternative payment models by the end of 2016; and 50% by the end of 2018. On Wednesday, a group of major providers and insurers announced that they have formed a coalition called the Health Care Transformation Task Force to shift 75% of their operations to contracts designed to improve quality and lower costs by 2020. The group includes the nation's largest non-profit, Ascension Health, as well as Trinity Health, Partners HealthCare, Advocate Health Care, Aetna, the Health Care Services Corp. (which runs five state Blue Cross plans), employers Caesars Entertainment and the Pacific Business Group on Health, and others.