3 min read

How employers can use the power of the pen to improve quality, enhance equity and promote value

By François de Brantes on 9/21/21 12:10 PM

In a recent blog post examining what it will take to restore patient confidence in a fair and equitable delivery system, Dr. Daniel Wolfson, EVP and COO of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, and I expose the significant challenges to establishing trust when money gets in the way. And money gets in the way when it drives both parties away from each other rather than towards each other. That happens all too often today, and here’s how.

Topics: Episodes of Care

5 min read

Bundles for Babies: Episodes-of-Care Making Motherhood Healthier

By Tami Hutchison on 5/8/21 11:40 AM

Pregnancy is a journey. Through each trimester, the investments expectant moms make in their health — from prenatal vitamins to clinical check-ups — culminate into what is (hopefully) a healthy, complication-free birth and adjustment of mom and baby to their new world.

Topics: Episodes of Care

3 min read

Seven years and still going strong

By François de Brantes on 12/18/20 8:00 AM

When the Medicare Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) program was launched in 2013, it was the first national alternative payment model that put providers at financial risk (for any losses incurred on the patients they manage) from day one of the program. In 2018, BPCI was replaced by BPCI-Advanced. By then, it had grown substantially from its early roots to representing over $10 billion in at-risk contracts per year with providers in all but one state. And it’s still going strong today.

Topics: Episodes of Care

3 min read

Competing on value in Connecticut

By François de Brantes on 11/24/20 7:00 AM

For decades now, employers have been at the forefront of health care transformation, continuously pushing for greater price and quality transparency, demanding better value from the delivery system, and encouraging plan members to be better consumers. Despite their efforts, progress has been slow. Employers continue to see health care prices increase, crowding out other investments and stifling pay raises. Quality improvements have been modest and, in some cases (like maternity), have worsened. Pricing transparency remains elusive.

Topics: Episodes of Care Value-based care

4 min read

Episodes of Care: A better path to improved clinical and financial outcomes

By François de Brantes on 10/13/20 9:46 AM

Frustrated by continued health plan inflation and point solutions that keep piling up and sometimes fail to live up to their promise, employers are looking for more comprehensive approaches that deliver measurable value today—and tomorrow. 

Topics: Episodes of Care Value-based care Healthcare price transparency Healthcare delivery reform Accountable care models Bundled payments