Value-Based Health Care Is Inevitable and That’s Good

Value-based care is a breakthrough, which aims to reduce health-care costs while improving quality and outcomes. It will eventually affect every patient in the country. However, not everyone is on board yet, because part of the value-based equation includes hospitals being paid less to provide better care. That is a significant challenge, but one that Cleveland Clinic sees as an opportunity to improve. Others must do the same.The Affordable Care Act includes a provision to change the way hospitals are paid, shifting from a reimbursement model that rewards procedures to one that rewards quality and outcomes. It will no longer be about how many patients you can see, how many tests and procedures you can order, or how much you can charge for these things in health care. Instead, it will be about costs and patient outcomes, such as faster recoveries, fewer readmissions, lower infection rates, and fewer medical errors. In other words, it will come down to price. That’s a good thing.