Beyond Pay for Performance — Emerging Models of Provider-Payment Reform

Meredith B. Rosenthal, Ph.D. in New England Journal of Medicine Volume 359:1197-1200 September 18, 2008 Number 12 Escalating costs and the growing imbalance between primary and specialty care have increased the urgency of calls for fundamental reform of the health care payment system. At the core of the problem is the fact that the dominant fee-for-service model rewards volume and intensity rather than value. But although the faults in the way we currently pay for health care are obvious, it is much less clear what feasible approach would yield better results.