Health Plan Pay-for-Performance Strategies

September 2006
The American Journal of Managed Care, Vol. 12, No. 9
Sally Trude, Melanie Au, Jon B. Christianson

This article examines health plan strategies, planning development and implementation of pay-for-performance programs (financial incentives for hospitals and physicians tied to quality and efficiency) at the community level, focusing on differences across the 12 CTS site visit areas. Most health plans are committed to pay-for-performance programs. Although providers would prefer health plans in their communities to use a single standardized set of measures and methods, this is unlikely given local market environments. A national effort directed at standardization might significantly reduce the extent of customization but also may limit the opportunities for local collaboration with providers.

A free copy of this article is available at the The American Journal of Managed Care Web site by clicking here.