Philadelphia Area Insurer Offers Physicians Incentives to Keep Patients Healthy

Tags: incentives | Independence Blue Cross | medical home | primary care physicians | quality

Starting in July, Independence Blue Cross plans to offer primary care physicians in its network up to $150,000 more per year in incentives if their patients stay healthy, according to a report in The Intelligencer.

The incentives, which employ a medical home model, follow major improvements in patient care quality that the Philadelphia-area insurer has seen in a similar statewide pilot project, Blue Cross Chief Medical Officer Richard Snyder, MD, told The Intelligencer.

Under the proposed program, the primary care physicians in the Blue Cross network will receive a 10-percent reimbursement increase to cover consultations, evaluations and patient management. Beginning in January, practices could receive another $1.50 to $3 per Blue Cross patient each month if they become a medical home, according to the report. As reimbursements increase for primary care, however, reimbursements for some expensive specialty care procedures that can be avoided with preventive care will be reduced, Dr. Snyder said in the report.

Read The Intelligencer 's report on the Independence Blue Cross quality incentives.

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