The Value-Based Care Imperative—And How Technology Makes VBC Possible

Value-based care (VBC) is an alternative. These models are typically risk-based, and they reward improved outcomes for cost and quality. VBC models include primary care attribution, bundled payments and capitation, and they’re not new. For decades, U.S. healthcare costs have risen while quality has declined. Today, costs are twice as high as similarly developed countries, consuming 20% of GDP, while outcomes are the worst by almost every measure—life expectancy, disease prevention and infant mortality. VBC realigns incentives to focus on outcomes over volume. It emphasizes providing the right services in the right place at the right time to improve overall patient health. VBC rewards providers for health maintenance rather than sick care—reimbursing for preventive services to avoid or manage chronic diseases, minimize higher-cost interventions and keep patients out of costly places like hospitals and ERs whenever possible.