Massachusetts is in the midst of a high-stakes experiment to control health care costs, based on the belief that changing the way we pay for care will cut costs and improve our health. Hospitals, doctors and insurers in Massachusetts are moving at a rapid pace into what are known as global payments, or sometimes global budgets. A study out today says there are signs that moving doctors into a global budget is good for patients, but the change isn’t saving consumers any money yet.
One in five patients in Massachusetts is now under some kind of global payment. That means that hospitals and physician groups negotiate a budget for all the patients in their practice. Doctors are paid based on the number of patients in their care, not based on how many patients they see in a day or the number of tests they order. This change is sweeping across Massachusetts and being tested in pockets around the country. Blue Cross Blue Shield launched this experiment in Massachusetts in 2009. Michael Chernew, and a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School, looked at what happened in the first two years.
“We find in our study that the underlying medical spending fell and quality improved,” says Chernew, “and ultimately I think that’s what the system is striving towards.”
The 11 physician groups and hospitals that joined in 2009 and 2010 did a better job than physicians in traditional medical contracts of making sure that patients received standard check-ups, cancer screening tests and other preventive care.
via Global Budgets: Better Care, Consumers Wait To See Savings | CommonHealth.