Fierce  Healthcare summarizes the Bipartisan Policy Center's new white paper offering legislative and regulatory recommendations to shift from a volume-based to value-driven health care system.  The report recommends legislation to create a two-track payment system that includes a modified fee-for service system with a value-based incentive structure for consumer/provider participation.

Shifting the discussion from how much to how well the United States spends on health care,
V-BID Center director,  Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, discussed ongoing enrollment in HSA-eligible HDHPs and recent bipartisan efforts to address Medicare spending by proposing a V-BID demonstration project for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with specific chronic conditions.   

According to findings from a June 2014 NBGH survey of 136 of the nation's largest corporations, employers' health care benefits costs will increase by an average of 6.5% in 2015.  In response, employers plan to increase cost-sharing, expand CDHP implementation, wellness programs, and Centers of Excellence usage.  Specialty medications and weight management strategies will also be examined. V-BID's action brief on specialty medications  and white paper on HDHPs offers clinically nuanced solutions to address costs and care in these areas.   

As an alternative to multi-tiered prescription drug formularies, the Robert Wood Johnson foundation offers a new issue brief recommending that payers team up with state and federal regulators to combat the soaring prices of specialty tier drugs. Using V-BID to improve consumer access to specialty medications is a nuanced approach to address high drug costs.  

State employee health plans spent nearly 31 billion insuring their employees last year, according to a Pew Charitable Trust study. Factors such as plan richness, age, gender, health status, and regional differences in pricing and physician practices contributed to variation in plan cost. 
V-BID's action brief on state employee health plans offers a framework to align benefit costs and high value services.   

Managed care companies hope to address nearly 290 billion in annual, avoidable healthcare spending by shifting to predictive modeling analytics instead of more traditional approaches to target patients at risk for medication non-adherence. Relatedly, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy has recently developed research priorities designed to improve targets for adherence interventions to improve health outcomes for patients with chronic disease.   

The first white paper in a Master Series from Mind the Gap Academy Publishing explores physician/patient communication skills and medication adherence. Published evidence and best-practices of high-performing providers are reviewed to determine what distinguishes successful patient medication adherence measures from others. 

Latest findings from the 2013 EBRI-led Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey indicate that out-of-pocket costs are still a major factor of consumer satisfaction rates. Forty four percent of traditional plan participants were extremely or very satisfied with out-of-pocket costs, while 20 percent of high-deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollees and 31 percent of consumer-driven health plans participants were extremely or very satisfied. 

As patients bear more financial responsibility for their medical bills, doctors must answer for both the necessity and cost of recommended treatment. V-BID Center director recommends that health plans reduce or eliminate financial barriers to care that is verified to improve patients' health and raise financial barriers to care that lack evidence-based value.