Center for American Progress

RELEASE: With Medicare Payment Reform Gauntlet Laid, CAP Releases Recommendations to Reach Goal of 50 Percent from Alternate Models by 2018
Press Release

RELEASE: With Medicare Payment Reform Gauntlet Laid, CAP Releases Recommendations to Reach Goal of 50 Percent from Alternate Models by 2018

Washington, D.C. — Last month, Health and Human Services, or HHS, Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, announced specific goals for payment reform in Medicare. Most importantly, Secretary Burwell set a goal that 50 percent of fee-for-service Medicare payments be made through alternative payments models by 2018.

Having been on the forefront of identifying viable alternatives to the fee-for-service payment model, the Center for American Progress strongly supports Secretary Burwell’s goal for payment reform in Medicare. In a new issue brief released today, CAP offers an action plan to meet that target, outlining several policy next steps to accelerate payment reform and ensure Medicare dollars are spent efficiently and effectively while also improving health outcomes.

“Secretary Burwell took a major step toward shifting us away from an inefficient fee-for-service model by setting this urgently needed and achievable goal to make 50 percent of Medicare payments through alternative models in three years,” said Topher Spiro, Vice President of Health Policy at CAP. “CAP has identified several next steps that HHS should implement to help meet this goal, improving the level of care for Medicare patients while also contributing to significant savings.”

Among the recommendations put forth by CAP are:

  • Expansion of bundled payments
  • Partnering with states on all-payer reforms through Accountable Care States
  • Launching multi-payer bundled payments for cancer care
  • Greater price transparency for health care costs

Click here to read the brief.

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Tom Caiazza at [email protected] or 202.481.7141.