Prioritizing Quality of Care with Value-Based Care Partnerships

Did you know that healthcare in the United States contributes to 20% of the overall economy? That is about $12,000 per person annually. However, the United States has lower life expectancies than other industrialized nations. In Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, only about $5,000 is spent annually on healthcare per person.

To reduce this wide gap, insurers, providers and those in public policy are working to shift healthcare payment models from the traditional ‘fee-for-service’ model to value-based care. Brian Wheeler, Vice President of Provider Collaboration and Network Transformation at CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield (CareFirst), joined WTOP News to discuss CareFirst’s work in value-based care, from advocacy to provider collaboration and partnerships.

Value-based care is a payment model that ties revenue to quality of care over the volume of office visits. Value-based care agreements can improve health outcomes and impact quality, access, affordability and equity of care.

Brian discusses the collective efforts of all healthcare stakeholders in transforming existing payment models to benefit patients, providers and the U.S. economy.