Dive Brief:
- According to a report commissioned by the Obama administration, measures intended to pay providers for better performance may be skewed because they fail to take into account difficulties treating patients with lower levels of income or education, The New York Times reports.
- The Obama administration report found that payment policies designed to reward high-quality care may actually punish doctors and hospitals, according to the 26 member panel brought together by the National Quality Forum. Factors outside doctors' and hospitals' control, such as the ability to afford medication, can significantly affect patients' health.
- Despite these concerns, payers are eager to push through pay-for-performance programs, with 65% of 170 C-level payer executives saying they plan to launch pay-for-performance programs over the next three years, according to a survey reported in FierceHealthPayer.
Dive Insight:
Pay-for-performance and other forms of value-based payment are inexorably descending upon the health care industry. The question is whether these schemes are actually getting what they're paying for, the Obama administration report suggests. As payers continue to roll out such schemes, they are likely to encounter resistance if it becomes clear that pay-for-performance discriminates against providers caring for the neediest patients.