In an NEJM Catalyst piece, Poonam L. Alaigh, M.D., executive vice president for corporate development at Remedy Partners, writes about how to make Accountable Care Organizations and bundled payments work side by side. Among Dr. Alaigh’s conclusions:

“Federal policymakers have recently indicated that they expect far greater returns on their investment in payment reform and they are prepared to hold stakeholders’ feet to the fire. They’ll likely do so by eliminating Medicare value-based care participation options that lack downside risk, which fail to hold organizations accountable for negative performance.

“Provider organizations must become adept at delivering care under both of these models as we shift from volume to value-based care. This approach provides an innovative platform for primary care and specialty care integration. ACOs and bundled payment systems are an opportunity for health care providers and payers to work in unison toward improving health for patients and better managing costs. Leaders should be seeking to build on the last several years of experience and momentum by aligning these initiatives and mobilizing these complementary programs while internally leveraging economics of scale and driving increased return on investment.”

To read the whole piece, please hit this link.