Dive Brief:
- A new bill has been filed by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators designed to change how Medicare treats patients with chronic illnesses.
- The bill, known as the Better Care, Lower-Cost Act, would encourage healthcare providers to voluntarily form certified teams called Better Care Programs; unlike with ACOs, these teams would be free to target Medicare patients with chronic illnesses.
- BCPs would receive capitated, risk-adjusted payments for Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic illnesses. If the team reduced the need for inpatient care and came in under its capitation level, it would receive some of the savings. However, it would also have to pay the government the difference if it went over the capitated budget.
Dive Insight:
These Better Care Programs are in interesting idea, a sort of mini-ACO with a focus on chronic care. However, depending on how many patients they take on, the BCP participants could conceivably be on the hook for big liabilities, something providers are likely to find unattractive. That being said, the idea of creating teams to deal with chronic illnesses is a good one. Let's hope legislators come up a workable model along these lines.