Home Health & Hospice Week

Value-based care will gain importance if new recommendations get picked up by the states.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services “issued guidance to state Medicaid directors designed to advance the adoption of value-based care strategies across their healthcare systems and align provider incentives across payers,” CMS says in a release. The guidance “includes an assessment of key lessons learned from early state and federal experiences in implementing value-based care reforms, as well as a comprehensive toolkit of available federal authorities for states to adopt innovative payment reform efforts within their individual programs,” the agency says.

CMS has “made a strong commitment” to transitioning to value-based care in Medicare, and wants to see the same thing happen in Medicaid, it says. “With Medicaid costs rising and continuing to consume a greater share of state budgets … CMS has a duty to ensure the program remains sustainable.”

The 33-page guidance document is at www.medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/Downloads/smd20004.pdf.