UnitedHealth Sees Shift Toward Outcome-Based Incentives
Bloomberg: UnitedHealth Sees Accountable-Care Work Doubling By 2017
UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it will more than double payments to physicians tied to quality and cost efficiency within five years, in the latest sign of transformation in the American medical system. UnitedHealth, the biggest U.S. insurer, said it expects to spend about $50 billion under accountable-care contracts by 2017, compared with $20 billion now (Nussbaum, 7/10).
Minneapolis Star Tribune: UnitedHealth Expands Efforts To Link Cost, Quality
UnitedHealth Group Inc. plans to push more doctors and hospitals toward contracts that link their pay with quality and cost measures, aiming to more than double the value of such agreements over the next five years. The move by the operator of the nation's largest insurance company could hasten a shift already underway, as insurers and the federal government move away from paying health care providers for each individual treatment and instead provide financial incentives to get patients healthier at less cost (Crosby, 7/10).