Highmark Health is rolling out a new way to pay for treating people with cancer, attacking the deeply entrenched practice of paying doctors for the number of procedures they perform. The new arrangement may also wind up saving money for people battling the second leading cause of death in the United States.
Under the Highmark plan unveiled Wednesday at a news conference in Harrisburg, cancer doctors will receive a bundled payment for an episode of care — on the condition they follow treatment guidelines that have been proven effective. Doctors often bristle at constraints imposed by health insurers, but the Pittsburgh insurer’s new offer gives doctors a measure of freedom that’s not otherwise possible in treating people with complex medical problems.
And doctors have been embracing the idea.
Read Full Article »