CMS beats Medicare payment-reform goal

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday it reached its goal of tying 30 percent of Medicare payments to value, instead of volume 10 months earlier than anticipated (Source: “Obama administration beats goal on Medicare payment reform,” The Hill, March 3, 2016).

Within Medicare, $117 billion is now spent on value-based payments — up from “virtually zero” dollars in 2011, Dr. Patrick Conway, chief medical officer for CMS, said.

Instead of simply paying doctors for services, CMS now encourages public- and private-sector healthcare payers to base their payments on quality measures, such as patient outcome and access to care.

The 30 percent commitment, which was laid out last year, marks the most dramatic shift in Medicare payments in the program’s 50-year history. It’s also the first time the program has set a target on value-based payments.

The administration is now eying its next goal — tying 50 percent of payments to value by 2018.