First, writes healthcare policy expert Paul Keckley, Ph.D., in Hospitals & Health Networks, the model is a major piece of Medicare cost containment plans. The initiatives will allow the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to coordinate care at low financial risk and gives the agency a clearer picture of variations in costs and care use in different regions of the country.
Moreover, going forward, the model will create more incentives for healthcare providers to improve care quality, according to a Health Affairs blog post. This is demonstrated by systems such as UCLA Health, which maintains one of the longest-lasting bundled payment programs for kidney transplants. Like most bundled programs, it ties reimbursement to quality, and according to the post, it has among the best survival rates for grafts nationwide, which many experts credit to its close monitoring of outcomes.
HENRY KOTULA 