“So far there are no blockbuster results to point to, but those who continue to support value-based methods say more time is needed to truly know their effectiveness.”

“While there is clear momentum to move to value-based care, are there any data showing it makes a difference in patient engagement, outcomes and costs?”

“The data are showing mixed results,”  Christina Boccuti, associate director of the Program on Medicare Policy at The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, told Healthcare Dive. “Some initiatives are returning positive savings and positive quality results and others are more mixed.”

Holly Martin, senior manager at Top Tier Consulting, agreed. ”Part of the challenge is people are changing and innovating and seeing results in quality and cost, and Medicare is seeing some reduced payments, but the accumulated learning experience is hard to consolidate nationally. CMS is pleased with the trend and the progress, but the actual dollar amounts that are being saved are not huge compared to the healthcare spend overall.”

Ms, Boccuti said that  the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program is at least one sign of progress in the value-based drive. It has been lowering hospital readmissions and returning savings to Medicare. The success of the program, which penalizes hospitals with high 30-day readmission rates for certain conditions, may also reflect value-based initiatives from other programs, she told the news service. For example, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), in trying to cut total spending, have an incentive to reduce hospital readmissions.

“Other programs, like the medical home model and ACOs are lowering use by reducing duplicative services and readmissions, but not cutting costs.”

“On net, the payment incentives are exceeding the savings that are garnered from lower use,” Ms. Boccuti said.

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