Blue Cross proposes payment overhaul

March 17, 2008

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts has proposed an overhaul of the way it pays doctors and hospitals in an attempt to stem the rise in health care costs and improve the quality of care, company officials told The Boston Globe.

The company wants to pay doctors and hospitals a flat sum per patient each year, adjusted for age and sickness, plus a significant bonus if the providers improve care. Payments would cover all services from primary care physicians, specialists, counselors and hospitals.

Blue Cross hopes to cut the growth in medical costs in half over a two-to-four year time span among providers who accept the new payment system.

With regard to performance measures, the plan would also offer up to a 10 percent bonus based on progress in meeting quality standards, the Globe reported.

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