41 Oregon providers, payers commit to value-based payment initiative

2021-04-05

Transitioning to value-based healthcare requires collaboration across the various sectors of the industry. To that end, healthcare stakeholders in Oregon are signing a pact to support the implementation of value-based payment models. Forty-one healthcare entities — including Oregon Health & Science University, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon and the Oregon Medical Association — have signed the Oregon Value-based Payment Compact. Though it is not a legally binding document, the compact represents a commitment by payers and providers to participate in value-based payments. The compact’s target is to move 70% of payments to advanced value-based models over four years. “Affordable, high-quality healthcare is a goal we all share for all people in Oregon,” said Greg Van Pelt, president of the Oregon Health Leadership Council, in a news release. “Our value-based payment work with commercial healthcare along with public markets is one more way to extend Oregon’s transformation journey into achieving that shared goal.” The Oregon Health Leadership Council is joining with the Oregon Health Authority to lead the effort. The initiative will follow principles developed by the Sustainable Health Care Cost Growth Target Implementation Committee, which was created by the state legislature in 2019. Last October, the committee established a set of principles to govern the spread of value-based payment models across the state. The principles include timeframes for payers’ transitions to value-based payments. It states that insurers should have the following percentage of all their payments under those models by the following years: 35% by 2021 50% by 2022 60% by 2023 70% by 2024 Further, the principles state that advanced value-based payment models should be designed to promote health equity. For example, prospective payments should cover the cost of infrastructure changes to support health equity and provide additional support, like technical assistance, for providers serving populations experiencing health inequities. “Oregon’s hospitals have long been part of the work to move toward a system of value-based payments, and we support the compact because aligning incentives improves quality and value,” said Becky Hultberg, president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, in a news release. “It’s a testament to healthcare leadership in Oregon that providers and payers representing two out of three residents in our state have signed on [to the compact].” Though the compact will remain in effect until the end of 2024, the signatories will reconvene no later than fall 2022 to revisit the agreement.

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