Ahead of tomorrow’s House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee hearing on “Improving Value-Based Care for Patients and Providers,” FAH is advocating for improved physician pay and against mandatory models as Congress considers an approach to improving value-based care. 

The letter expresses concerns that current value-based payment models are burdensome for physicians. The FAH advocates for improving existing value-based care initiatives rather than creating new models. The letter suggests enhancing physician incentives through extended Alternative Payment Model (APM) incentives and reducing the reporting and administrative burdens that detract from patient care. 

FAH also reiterated concerns about mandatory participation in new care models, like the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), which could limit access to essential services for Medicare beneficiaries by imposing unsustainable costs and administrative demands on hospitals. FAH calls for any new models to be voluntary and tested appropriately, emphasizing the need for innovations that do not compromise hospitals and physician payments or patient access to care. 

Read the letter here.