During a recent meeting, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced measurable goals and a timeline to move the Medicare program, and the healthcare system at large, toward paying providers based upon quality, rather than the quantity of care given to patients.

A news release issued by HHS reports that it has set a goal of tying 30% of fee-for-service Medicare payments to quality of value through alternative payment models, such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) or bundled payment arrangements by the end of 2016, and tying 50% of payments to these models by the end of 2018. HHS also set a goal of tying 85% of all traditional Medicare payments to quality or value by 2016 and 90% by 2018 through programs such as the Hospital Value Based Purchasing and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Programs. According to the release, this is the first time in the history of the Medicare program that HHS has set explicit goals for alternative payment models and value-based payments.

In an American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) news release, Gayle Lee, JD, APTA senior director of healthcare finance and quality, emphasizes the important role the physical therapy profession stands to play in these new payment models.

“PTs are in a position to reduce readmissions, increase independence, and improve quality of life, all of which are central goals of the alternative systems. We are confident that PTs and PTAs are integral to bringing about an important transformation in health care delivery,” Lee says.

The HHS news release notes that in order to make its goals scalable beyond Medicare, Burwell also announced the creation of a Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network. Through the Learning and Action Network, HHS will work with private payors, employers, consumers, providers, states and state Medicare programs, and other partners to expand alternative payment models into their programs. The Network is slated to hold its first meeting in March 2015, with more details to follow in the future.

Burwell goes on to state in the HHS release, “Whether you are a patient, a provider, a business, a health plan, or a taxpayer, it is in our common interest to build a health care system that delivers better care, spends health care dollars more wisely and results in healthier people. We believe these goals can drive transformative change, help us manage and track progress, and create accountability for measurable improvement.”

View the New England Journal of Medicine to read a Perspectives piece from Burwell.

For additional information, see the following fact sheet

[Source(s): APTA, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)]