Insurers Convert Nearly Half of Business to Value-Based Payments

The Health Care Transformation Task Force, a 41-member group that includes some of the nation’s top health systems and payers, revealed Dec. 18 that members have made substantial progress toward transitioning to value-based payment arrangements.

At the end of 2017, the group’s provider and payer members had put 47 percent of their businesses into such arrangements, based on survey responses from 14 of those members. That’s up from 41 percent in 2016 and 30 percent in 2015.

The payment structures are designed to hold members accountable for lowering the cost of care, improving quality of care and ultimately improving the health of a population over a year or during a defined episode that spans multiple care sites.

In 2015, the task force pledged to put 75 percent of its businesses into value-based payment arrangements by the end of 2020.

VBC Resources

• Transformation Progress Report 
• One Page Executive Summary
• 2018 VBC Research Study Results
• Leadership Guide

“There is growing evidence that value-based care leads to better health, better care and reduced total cost. That’s why our members remain focused on reaching the goal of 75 percent by 2020,” said Fran Soistman, executive vice president and head of government services with Aetna and task force chair. “This report demonstrates task force members’ commitment to accelerating the pace of transformation toward value-based care across the healthcare continuum.”

The task force also revealed that its newest member is Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare. Other group members include Aetna, Humana, St. Louis-based Ascension, San Francisco-based Dignity Health, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, Boston-based Partners HealthCare and Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health.