A case can be made that the way providers are paid today – on a fee for service basis – rewards volume.

It follows then, if you want to lower health care costs, payments need to shift toward a focus on outcomes; i.e., the “value based care” I referenced in closing Tip # 594.

Larger self-funded employers (like Walmart) have been the early adapters of a value based model that conveys a fixed price - perhaps just another way of saying capitation - to the provider and holds them at risk for their patients’ outcome.

And, under this model, care in traditional settings such as a doctor’s office or medical center is being shifted to alternative delivery sites; e.g., retail pharmacies and the home.

Over 40+ years in this business, I’ve seen a lot of old ideas re-branded as new. So, will value based care simply be a cross between Medicare Advantage and Kaiser Permanente?

H-m-m-m-m. That might actually be interesting!