Those two syllables make some shudder while others salivate at the prospect that real change can bring. Mention “value-based care” and there’s no dearth of opinions about why to adopt this healthcare delivery model, whether its altruistic vision is attainable, or even how to realign provider payments in ways that promote better care and better health outcomes.
Value-based care is not new and some efforts have been more successful than others. One longstanding question that merits examination is: What promise does this equity-driven delivery model hold for Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans around the country?
To tackle the topic of value-based care, members of the Blues community of healthcare plans will come together at 11:00 a.m. EDT June 13 for the next TTEC Healthcare Solutions Blues Summit Series of webinars developed specifically for BCBS professionals. This 60-minute, interactive session gives attendees an opportunity to engage with their peers at Blues organizations outside their markets, to ask questions and compare strategies — what worked and what didn’t.
Headliner Tracy Bahl gets the healthcare dialogue going
To set the tone for a free-form discussion, the Blues Summit webinar will kick off with insights from Tracy Bahl, operating partner on the Healthcare team at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), a private equity firm focused on healthcare and technology. Bahl also serves as managing director of Valtruis, the WCAS company that partners with entrepreneurs advancing the adoption of value-based care in the U.S. healthcare system.A luminary in the world of healthcare, Bahl brings a wide range of perspectives about value-based care, drawing from his experience leading an oncology care network, CVS health plans, and other leadership roles at UnitedHealth Group and Cigna HealthCare, among others.
“Healthcare transparency is changing the way we experience and consume health care – for the better,” Bahl has said.
While transparency in healthcare, particularly as it relates to the vision for value-based care, is desirable for all stakeholders, not everyone is optimistic. Some say while value-based care holds great promise in theory, the challenges and institutional roadblocks may be too great to overcome.
Are the detractors of value-based care right?
In their JAMA article, “Aligning Value-based Payments with Health Equity,” authors Amol Navathe, M.D., Ph.D, and Joshua Liao, M.D., wrote that effective reform must “reconcile existing tensions between financial incentives and equity goals.” They say payment reforms that place the burden, along with financial penalties, on providers may lead those clinicians to cherry-pick healthier patients who cost less, undermining access to all populations needing care.Attendees can expect a lively discussion at the TTEC Healthcare Solutions Blues Summit webinar, which will explore the pros and cons of value-based care and how Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations should be thinking about the delivery model as they refine strategy for the year ahead.
BCBS professionals are invited to join us at 11:00 a.m. EDT June 13 for this interactive session designed exclusively for the Blues community. Register here.
