Preserving The Bipartisan Commitment To Health Care Delivery System Reform

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a five-part Health Affairs Blog series, produced in conjunction with the Bipartisan Policy Center, examining current issues and care models in the delivery system reform effort. Each post will be jointly authored by Democratic and Republican leaders in health policy. Check back for the next entry in the series on May 25. Improving and reforming our health care delivery system is not a partisan issue. The need to improve health care delivery models, as a means for ensuring better patient outcomes and a more efficient health care system, enjoys broader consensus than elements surrounding health insurance coverage and financing. It is important for Congress, the Trump administration, and the health care industry to continue bipartisan efforts to shift our health care delivery system and provider payment models toward value-based care. The Long History Of Bipartisanship In Medicare For more than 30 years, Democrats and Republicans have worked together on incremental approaches to fostering smarter payment models in federal health programs, which seek to reward providers and health plans for delivering cost-efficient, high-quality care. In 1983, Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee agreed to modernize Medicare’s payment system for inpatient hospital stays, moving from cost-based reimbursement to a pre-set prospective payment for a duration of care for a specific condition. In 20...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Health Professionals Hospitals Medicare Organization and Delivery Payment Policy bipartisan delivery system reform Bipartisan Policy Center delivery reform value based care Source Type: blogs