Changing Health Care Compensation by Rewarding Value-Based Outcomes

Virtually every conversation about health care delivery and financing today includes a discussion about the need to change from volume-based incentives to value-based incentives in order to improve patient outcomes and move from the unsustainable cost structure of fee-for-service reimbursement. However, current payment methodologies do not support behaviors that lead to improved quality and efficiency in health care delivery and financing.

For these reasons, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield has created the Value-Based Compensation Initiative (VBCI), a 5-year plan designed to facilitate the evolution from volume-based incentives to value-based rewards. Under this new model, funds that formerly represented per-service profitability for providers will be used to reward value as defined by stakeholders who fund health care delivery.