November 2012, Ann Arbor, MI
In their plan for health and fiscal policy, the National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) refers to value-based insurance design (V-BID) as a “game-changer”, putting the concept of value in insurance design at the forefront of ideas that could address fiscal challenges and transform health system incentives.
Released earlier this month, the NCHC plan was written after a year of intensive discussions with health experts and others involved in health care delivery. The plan recommends a policy framework for curbing costs without sacrificing quality and explicitly cites V-BID for its ability to “give consumers incentives to seek out the highest value care.”
The report references V-BID Center Director Dr. Mark Fendrick’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and suggests that Congress “implement MedPAC’s recommendation to empower the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to vary cost-sharing based on evidence,” as well as “lift curbs on tiered cost-sharing in Medicare Advantage.”
The NCHC also identifies three other concepts with the potential to achieve improvements in health care while remaining cost neutral or reducing costs, including the permanent repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate formula for physician payment, an increase in team-based primary care training, and innovative medical liability reforms.
The Center for Value-Based Insurance Design did not lobby for or engage in discussions with the NCHC about its report.
