Over the last ten years, policymakers of both parties have identified health care payment reform as a critical national priority. Payment incentives offered by Medicare and other large payers create the environment in which providers must choose between being rewarded for performing more services and procedures, as in fee-for-service medicine or, for efficiently managing the cost and quality of care received by their patients in risk-sharing alternative payment models.
By reforming payment systems, we can change the way we deliver care to unlock a world in which health care can be both better and more affordable. But this will not happen on its own.
