business
R.I. Blues tries global payments
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 8, 2010
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island has reached an agreement with Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan hospital system that the state's health insurance commissioner pushed as an early experiment in payment reform.
Under the new contract, the Blues plan will pay Lifespan hospitals based in part on how well the facilities perform on efficiency and quality measures, and on improvement of communications between hospitals and physicians. Payments will be on an episode-of-care basis rather than for individual services.
To move the state away from a fee-for-service payment system, Rhode Island Health Insurance Commissioner Christopher Koller made quality-based payment a condition of rate increases he approved in July.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/11/08/bibf1108.htm.












