Business

Mich. Blues introduce bonus program

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 6, 2004

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BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan has introduced a quality-pay initiative for physicians.

The program, for doctors treating PPO and fee-for-service patients, is being launched in cooperation with 10 medical groups comprising about 2,900 doctors. More groups are expected to be allowed into the program in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The incentive plan earmarks one-half of 1% of the Blues plan's professional fees to physicians, diverting the money to a special fund and paying it on a quarterly bonus to medical groups that work toward achieving best-practices standards for treating several chronic illnesses.

About $10 million to $12 million in incentive pay is expected to be awarded in the first year, said Thomas Simmer, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer of BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan. Payments will begin in March 2005.

The incentive pay will be given out to practices as a whole, not to individual doctors. The program will allow practices to create patient registries, measure doctors' performance compared with evidence-based guidelines, and provide feedback to physicians on how well they're doing, said John E. Billi, MD, chair of the medical economics committee of the Michigan State Medical Society.

Dr. Billi is an internist with the University of Michigan Health System, which is slated to get incentives through the new plan.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/12/06/bibf1206.htm.

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