There is no more powerful tool to get what Americans need from the healthcare system than payment. Today, the vast majority of health care is paid for on a per-piece basis, with healthcare providers paid more simply for doing more. This type of payment leads to billions of dollars in inappropriate and unnecessary care, which can be harmful to patients. We need instead to pay health care providers for producing health, regardless of whether that entails doing more or less. We need to pay providers for doing the safest, most effective, most efficient thing for each patient the first time. The physician leaders at CAPP urge policymakers to keep the momentum going on outcomes-based payment models.
