In the News: When Value-Based Payment Models Overlap

Modern Healthcare recently published an article -- featured online and in print -- about the issue of overlap between new, value-based payment models, and mounting calls for it to be addressed.

The article features work from VSSL member and UW Department of Medicine and Division of General Internal Medicine faculty, Joshua Liao, MD, MSc, FACP. In a recent article published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine (summarized in a recent VSSL Views post), Dr. Liao and colleagues used two large voluntary Medicare payment programs -- the MSSP ACO program and BPCI bundled payment program -- to highlight potential overlap between ACOs and bundled payments as major value-based payment reforms.

Per Dr. Liao, the issue of overlap is critical to both policymakers and provider organizations. "To continue catalyzing reform and improving health care, policymakers will have to consider how to address overlap of models that are successfully scaled up." Dr. Liao pointed out that the issue is also relevant to hospitals, physician groups, and clinicians who may be either involved in multiple payment models, or involved in one model but located in areas where other organizations or competitors are involved in other models.

For additional reading about Dr. Liao's insights about payment model overlap, please see his previous article in the Health Affairs blog.