Value-based care (VBC) is a “value over volume,” holistic approach to patient care. Value-based payment (VBP) arrangements reward providers for improving care quality, reducing costs and inefficiencies, and advancing population health. All payers, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, are shifting away from traditional fee-for-service (FFS) models toward VBP models. New York State Medicaid plans to cover 80 percent of primary care services under VBP arrangements by 2020, and most commercial payers already offer VBP arrangements. This means providers need to modify their workflows now to meet VBP requirements.

Providers are making this transition already through state and federal programs, including the NY Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. The Program is a foundational step towards delivering value-based care, and was designed in stages to guide providers through the transition from FFS to VBP. Providers who attest to Meaningful Use Stage 3 will find themselves better positioned for success under VBP arrangements.

Stage 3 objectives help providers to strengthen their population health management skills, which are critical to success in the VBP landscape. Stage 3 objectives are designed to improve a provider’s ability to:

• Identify opportunities for improvement in clinical quality, efficiency, and patient experience
• Track and monitor performance (eCQMs) across important services and conditions
• Track overutilization and other drivers of cost

The Program is active through 2021. Eligible Providers have three payment years left to attest to Meaningful Use Stage 3, which means they can still earn up to $25,500 in incentive payments.

NYC REACH encourages providers to participate in the program for as long as possible. This ensures they receive the maximum incentive payments available and helps to smooth the transition from FFS to VBP.

The extra time providers put in now to attest to Meaningful Use will save them time in the future when they need to meet VBP requirements. The following chart  shows how Stage 3 objectives reflect the goals of VBP arrangements.

This article was featured in the Fall 2019 NYC REACH Newsletter