Strategy & Policy
Why It Matters
Value-based care is not the destination. It is permission to redesign how care is delivered and paid for. Better Health Matters helps leaders choose the right models and contracts, understand the economics of risk, and seek out and buy health rather than health services.
Fee-for-service makes the billable visit the basic unit of health care. Population-based payment relaxes that constraint, so prevention, team-based care, outreach between visits and long-term accountability start to make economic sense.
But a contract does not create a care model. Success depends on choosing the right arrangements, carrying risk with enough capital, data and authority to manage it, and buying specialty and hospital care for total value rather than unit price. Employers and other purchasers have a growing role in leading that change, from primary care outward.
Where We Focus
Value-based care strategy and readiness: where to start, how fast to move, and which populations to prioritize
Payment model and contract strategy across Medicare (MSSP, ACO REACH, Medicare Advantage), Medicaid, commercial and employer arrangements
Finance of risk: benchmarks, risk adjustment, capital and stop-loss, and the financial case for change
Employers and purchasers: direct contracting, advanced primary care, and buying health rather than benefits
Specialty and hospital purchasing based on outcomes and total episode cost, not discounts
Network and partnership strategy, including clinically integrated networks
Policy perspective on federal and state payment reform and price transparency, and what it means for providers and purchasers
Next Step
Wherever you are on the path to value-based care, let's talk about what comes next.