As payers seek to manage rising healthcare costs and implement changes in response to healthcare reform legislation, many are considering different provider reimbursement models that reward the value, not volume, of care delivered.

Value-based reimbursement (VBR) models that fit local market conditions can improve quality and reduce costs by altering the incentives for volume-driven care and reducing unwarranted variations in care. When properly designed, VBR models also can help payers establish or improve payer-provider collaboration, get ahead of government mandates, and satisfy employer demands for more effective and innovative benefit options. Successful VBR programs require automation, which enables payers to achieve scale and efficiency.

Payers cannot be successful without meaningful and deep provider support and collaboration. From the beginning, therefore, VBR must be a provider strategy as well as a payer strategy.