Congress’s push for a “pay for value” approach to Medicare payment of cardiologists and other clinicians may have died last year, but the proposal is likely to see new life within the next year. When that happens, the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings has some suggestions for how the legislation could better support care and bring more value to Medicare.

In a January brief, the center suggested the following modifications:

• The legislation provide bigger rewards for alternative payment models (APMs) that are strongly related to value
• APMs cover multiple services, care sites and providers
• Additional bonus incentives for organizations that use APMs with more advanced measures of performance
• Institute policies that achieve a higher-value set of services for Medicare beneficiaries as a way of improving the fee-for-service (FFS) payment system
• Implement “more meaningful performance measures and better support systems” for clinicians

To view the full report, click here.