Resistance to change is the biggest barrier to value-based care, Monica Engel, senior vice president of Government Markets at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, told Becker's.
"Both organizations need to be dedicated to changing how we act and deliver care," Ms. Engel said. "For a traditional, legacy provider, change from fee-for-service to value-based can prove challenging."
BCBS Minnesota recently inked a value-based contract with Herself Health. The St. Paul, Minn.-based provider is focused on delivering chronic, acute and mental healthcare to older women.
Newer organizations like Herself Health are more nimble when it comes to value-based care, Ms. Engel said.
"They're set up to value innovation. They are creating these workflows for the first time, so there's not a lot of retraining," Ms. Engel said.
Older women have unique health needs that Herself Health can support, Ms. Engel said. Women tend to live longer, and tend to have more chronic conditions to manage.
"I could be a patient that's managing high blood pressure. I could have diabetes. I am all of a sudden developing osteoporosis," she said. "In the traditional system, I have to go see one doctor for this condition, another doctor for that condition."
Herself Health can manage these conditions in one place, Ms. Engel said.
"What I think Herself Health really speaks to from a member perspective is aligned with our goals of making it easy for members to go in and seek care," she said. "We can catch those conditions up front, which helps us address affordability, to keep the premiums lower."
The value-based agreement will focus on specific measurables to address the chronic conditions that most commonly affect older women, Ms. Engel said, and ensuring members are getting primary care.
Women over 65 have a higher probability of developing osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease and autoimmune diseases, Ms. Engel said.
"There are various conditions that as women age, you need to be screening for. In traditional environments, it's not happening as often as we'd like it to," she said. "That's one of the key gaps we'd like to address through this agreement."
In addition to a dedication to change, dedicating time and resources to studying outcomes is an important piece of successful value-based arrangements, Ms. Engel said.
"Having that feedback loop to ensure continued communication so that we can address challenges where they are at and making sure we are adjusting and getting to the outcomes and goals that we've established through the agreements," she said.