In the wake of last week's election results, the list of unknowns and what ifs in the policy world just got a whole lot longer. That includes the future of international trade deals, tax policy and immigration. In health care, even the future of the 2010 Affordable Care Act is in doubt.
But one shining example of bipartisan agreement is the desire to move away from fee-for-service medicine to a value-based system. Rather than focus on the number of tests, scans, and medical procedures that can be ordered, the aim is to pay for better care instead of simply paying for more.
Policy makers took a promising step in that direction when they included quality incentive payments in the popular Medicare Advantage program. Now however, a glitch is causing unintended consequences for millions of seniors resulting in millions missing out on this patient-centered quality revolution.
