Dr Mark Fendrick on VBID's Exciting Implications for the Future
Dr. Mark Fendrick, the University of Michigan’s director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID), has explained why the approach has exciting implications for the future of healthcare. Value-based insurance design is being introduced into Medicare Advantage, with a demonstration project being launched on 1 January 2017 in nine health plans across three states, examining common chronic conditions. Clinically nuanced cost sharing brings lower out-of-pocket spending for those with access to Medicare, covering diagnostic tests, doctor’s visits, drugs, and procedures necessary for the treatment of chronic diseases. The VBID demand-side initiative will be linked to supply-side payment reform initiatives to give quality-based incentives to healthcare providers and recipients.

Some exciting developments in value-based insurance design (VBID) have been the introduction of clinically nuanced cost sharing in Medicare Advantage programs, as well as the alignment of demand-side and supply-side payment reform initiatives, according to A. Mark Fendrick, MD, director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan.

Transcript (slightly modified)

What will the value-based insurance landscape look like in 2020?

There’s lots of momentum for value-based insurance design, or VBID, coming from both public and private payers. In the public space, we’re very excited about the launch of the value-based insurance design Medicare Advantage demonstration project, launching in January 1, 2017, in 9 health plans in 3 states, looking at common chronic conditions.

To see clinically nuanced cost sharing in the Medicare program is extraordinarily exciting for us, given that it was a very long and tenuous adjuvacy discussion, and now that we’ve seen a big uptake from both CMS and health plans to bring about lower out-of-pocket spending to Medicare beneficiaries, to get them the visits, the diagnostic tests, the drugs, and the procedures they need to manage their chronic diseases, is going to be a great step forward.

And to see this VBID demand-side initiative tied to the very exciting supply-side payment reform initiatives that are taking place across the country, should finally allow us to see alignment of quality-based incentives for both providers and patients.