The majority of state Medicaid programs are using some form of pay-for-performance model or are considering implementing one, according to a new report released by the Commonwealth Fund and IPRO.
The two not-for-profit research organizations found that more than half of all state Medicaid programs offer financial incentives to healthcare providers who deliver better quality of care, and nearly 85 percent of states plan to create pay-for-performance (P4P) programs within five years.
The 76-page report, prepared by Thomas Hartman of IPRO and Kathryn Kuhmerker of the Kuhmerker Consulting Group, LLC, is based on a survey of state Medicaid directors and staff. According to Hartman, co-author of the study and IPRO's vice president of health care quality improvement, an overwhelming majority of Medicaid directors reported that their main reason for using a P4P program is to improve quality, not necessarily to reduce costs.
"Very few states have conducted formal evaluations of their pay-for-performance programs, but most Medicaid officials believe that the overall quality of care being provided is improving as a result of these programs," Hartman said. As part of today's release, the Center for Health Care Strategies, supported by the Commonwealth Fund, issued a book that offers advice for how sates can use Medicaid
P4P programs. The book, titled "Physician Pay-for-Performance in Medicaid: A Guide for States," offers practical lessons from a variety of Medicaid, commercial and Medicare P4P programs, according to the Center.
Today's CWF study is among a growing interest in P4P at the state level.
At the Fourth Health Information Technology Summit held March 26-31 in Washington, D.C., Janet Marchibroda, CEO of the eHealth Initiative (eHI) and Foundation announced the launch of a survey of its members that will be used to create a Blueprint for Improving America's Health and Healthcare Through Information and Information Technology.
The eHI Blueprint is expected to reveal a consensus among multiple stakeholders in healthcare on ways to improve healthcare through healthcare IT.
"State level efforts are growing and policies for improving care are rapidly emerging," Marchibroda said. "Efforts across the states are incubating a convergence of forces that will drive change and improvement in America's healthcare."