Payment incentives and integrated care delivery: levers for health system reform and cost containment

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act encourages use of payment methods and incentives to promote integrated care delivery models including patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, and primary care and behavioral health integration. These models rely on interdisciplinary provider teams to coordinate patient care; health information and other technologies to assure, monitor, and assess quality, and payment and financial incentives such as bundling, pay-for-performance, and gain-sharing to encourage value-based health care. In this paper, we review evidence about integrated care delivery, payment methods, and financial incentives to improve value in health care purchasing, and address how these approaches can be used to advance health system change.