Dr Bruce Sherman on How Employers Can Accelerate Movement Toward Value-Based Models

Progress toward value-based payment models is moving slowly, so employers and healthcare systems need to recognize the value of taking on risk and encourage surrounding entities in their communities to do the same, said Bruce Sherman, MD, chief medical officer of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.

Transcript

Some reports have shown that the movement toward value-based payment models has stalled. Do you agree? Are you seeing that?

I think the movement toward value-based models is continuing to move, it’s just slow. There are a number of factors that are contributing to that; I think there is some general reluctance from the employer standpoint to take more risk. I think also from the health plan/integrated delivery system standpoint, some entities want to continue to maximize their revenue and aren’t ready yet to take on risk.

What do you think it will take to get health systems and employers to move more toward risk-based models?

I think healthcare’s local, and I think in communities where there are progressive entities that recognize the market value of moving forward with risk-based contracts, that they will be the drivers in their communities to prompt others to move in that direction, and my sense is that that is probably going to be the fastest way or the most significant driver for risk-based contracting or value-based contracting to spread.