Is the future of commercial payment in value-based care or elsewhere? It’s an important question with serious implications on the future of value-based care that, surprisingly, has received little attention to date. Hypothetically, if all the major commercial health plans committed seriously to value-based care, they would have the scale to push the rest of the industry.
We’re prone to be optimistic about Medicare and Medicaid risk and pessimistic about commercial—many share that view. But it’s worth remembering that many smart people can disagree on value-based care and particularly the future of commercial risk. With that in mind, implementing risk-based payment in the commercial population carries distinct challenges.