Lawmakers are proposing legislation that would extend incentives for value-based care in Medicare.
The Value in Health Care Act, introduced July 27 by Reps. Darin LaHood, Suzan DelBene, Brad Wenstrup, DPM, Kim Schrier, MD, Larry Bucshon, MD, and Earl Blumenauer, would extend funding for value-based care incentives in Medicare for an additional two years.
The bill would also extend authority to CMS to adjust thresholds for payments for more targeted models and remove some revenue-based designations in the Medicare shared-savings program to allow more rural providers and those serving underserved populations to participate.
The legislation also directs the Government Accountability Office to evaluate parity between alternative payment models in Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
"Physicians and hospitals participating in Alternative Payment Models are leading the changes our healthcare system needs to focus on value instead of volume," Ms. DelBene, a sponsor of the bill, said in a news release. "The Value in Health Care Act would encourage more providers to join these models and accelerate this change, leading to improved quality of care and health outcomes for seniors."
Seventeen healthcare organizations, including the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the National Associations of ACOs, signed a letter in support of the bill.
"The Value in Health Care Act helps maintain and further strengthen the movement towards high-quality care in which financial performance is linked to the quality of patient care rather than the number of services delivered," the organizations wrote.