New payment models could rein in healthcare costs
Finding new ways to manage ever-increasing healthcare costs is always a hot discussion point among health payers, and AHIP Institute attendees will not be disappointed as they find several sessions highlighting the topic next week.
A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan exec on Thursday will share strategies the insurer used to implement an integrated technology platform and insights it learned about cost drivers, revenue optimization, and pay-for-performance programs.
Interested in learning more about episode-based payments? Folks from UnitedHealthcare and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey will discuss this and other emerging payment models that focus on specific acute care issues and work within the specialty care community. They will also talk about health plan models where performance measures and payment methodologies have driven actual results.
Also addressing innovative payment models, a HealthPartners medical director will explore how they can work in conjunction with wellness programs to incentivize and reward quality and provide better value. You can also hear about how one employer program is reducing healthcare costs while advancing a culture of health and fitness.
There's been a lot of chatter recently about how patient-centered care could help reduce health plans' costs. If you're interested in that line of thinking, check out the Thursday afternoon session discussing how shared decision making has "great potential" for reducing costs and improving quality of care. Folks from Group Health and Health Dialog will recount one health plan's partnership with a private company to integrate shared decision making at the provider level, which resulted in significantly fewer surgeries, among other positive outcomes.
Rounding out AHIP's cost containment-related sessions is a conversation about network and reimbursement designs that can enable affordable care. Here, you can learn how new care models, such as ACOs and patient-centered medical homes, can drive down medical costs, as well as discuss how aligning products, networks and reimbursement designs can reduce administrative costs.
Related Articles:
BCBS of Minnesota tries incentive-based payment model
Insurer pressures providers to drop fee-for-service model
BCBS of Massachusetts puts Beth Israel doctors on budget
Internal CMS schism slows ACO payment rule development
Comments