More than 500 organizations will begin participating in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative made possible by the Affordable Care Act. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will test how bundling payments for episodes of care can result in more coordinated care and lower costs for Medicare.
The initiative includes four models of bundling payments, varying by the types of health care providers and services. Depending on the model type, CMS will bundle payments for services from hospitals, physicians, post-acute facilities, and other providers during an episode of care. The goal is to to improve health outcomes and lower costs by getting providers to work together .
Participating providers will offer discounts on payments for the episode of care. Meanwhile, provider partners will work together to reduce readmissions, duplicative care, and complications. “The objective…is to improve the quality of health care delivery for Medicare beneficiaries while reducing program expenditures, by aligning the financial incentives of all providers,” said Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. Click here to see the list of awardees.
