HHS has announced a new value-based payment and care delivery model to encourage better oncology care.
The Oncology Care Model will invest in physician-led practices and encourage participating practices "to improve care and lower costs through episode-based, performance-based payments that financially incentivize high-quality, coordinated care."
Under the new model, physicians will receive performance-based payments for addressing the "complex care needs" of patients receiving chemotherapy, and they will be rewarded for improving the health outcomes of that population.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act initiative will include 24-hour access to practitioners for beneficiaries undergoing treatment and focus on improving quality through physicians providing coordinated, person-centered care.
"Based on feedback from the medical, consumer and business communities, we are launching this new model of care to support clinicians' work with their patients," Patrick Conway, MD, CMS CMO and deputy administrator for innovation and quality, said in a news release. "We aim to provide Medicare beneficiaries struggling with cancer with high-quality care around the clock and to reward physicians for the value, not volume, of care they provide. Improving the way we pay providers and deliver care to patients will result in healthier people."
CMS is now seeking the participation of other payers in the model, including commercial insurers, Medicare Advantage plans, state programs and Medicaid managed care plans.
"With the Oncology Care Model, CMS has the opportunity to achieve three goals in the care of this medically complex population who are facing a cancer diagnosis: better care, smarter spending, and healthier people," Dr. Conway added in the news release. "As a practicing physician and son of a Medicare beneficiary who died from cancer, I know the importance of well-coordinated care focused on the patient's needs."
The news comes about a month after HHS announced ambitious goalsfor the healthcare industry, stating it wants 50 percent of Medicare payments based on how well patients are cared for by 2018, which was the first time in the history of the Medicare program such explicit goals have been set for alternative payment models.
Medical practices can sign up for the new program by April 23.
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