Press Releases
April 26, 2019

New Report Promotes Drive to Value-Based Care in Medicare Advantage and Identifies Barriers to Address

Washington, D.C. – Today, Better Medicare Alliance (BMA), the leading advocacy coalition for Medicare Advantage, released a report entitled: Advancing Value-Based Care in Medicare Advantage.

 

The report is a result of a convening hosted by Better Medicare Alliance in November 2018 that brought together 30 thought leaders —including health plans, providers, researchers, community partners, and policymakers —to discuss the means to advance greater adoption of value-based care models in Medicare Advantage.

 

The speakers and participants acknowledged the leadership of plans and providers in advancing value-based arrangements and the importance of these models in offering access to care management and improved outcomes. Significantly, the report also identifies barriers that inhibit adoption of these new models that recommends actions that can be taken to address these barriers.

 

The report summarizes presentations from CareMore, an integrated health plan and care delivery system for Medicare and Medicaid patients; Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a research entity that focuses on evidence-based practices in health care; and TANDEM365, a primary care initiative by Priority Health.

 

Participants discussed experiences implementing value-based arrangements and how the shift to value-based care can spur clinical innovation, improve health outcomes, and decrease costs for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.

 

“Medicare Advantage has become an important driver of value-driven, high-quality care in Medicare. However, there is still work to be done to support this important change in payment and delivery of care for millions of beneficiaries. The report points to specific barriers and next steps to be taken to better enable in plans and providers to participate in value-based arrangements and pursue other innovative care solutions. We look forward to working to implement these ideas and appreciate the commitment of the participants in framing this discussion.” said Allyson Y. Schwartz, BMA President and CEO.

The report identifies barriers that hinder the adoption of value-based care and the development of new alternative payment models (APMs).

 

The report has outlined the following next steps:

 

BETTER MEDICARE ALLIANCE RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Set National Goals for Improving Beneficiary Outcomes by Increasing Value-Based Care in Medicare Advantage

Provide Additional Opportunities for Plans and Providers to Partner to Address Beneficiary Needs through Value-Based Care Demonstrations in Medicare Advantage

Develop Guidelines and Best Practices for Data Sharing and Collection

Streamline Performance Measures Across Programs to Reduce Administrative Burden and Incentivize Greater Focus on Health Outcome

Create Template Model Designs to Assist with the Development of Value-Based Care Contracts and Facilitate the Adoption of Best Practices

 

To read the full report, please click here.

 

 

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