Five years after Boise, Idaho-based St. Luke's Health System began pursuing value-based payment agreements, projected premium savings remain absent, according to an Idaho Statesman report.
Here are five things to know.
1. St. Luke's created an insurance policy with SelectHealth, a health plan of Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, in 2012.
2. St. Luke's joint policy with SelectHealth established a health plan built on a fee-for-service platform. However, instead of open-ended reimbursement, participating providers receive a global budget. If plan members' care costs total more than the budget, St. Luke's absorbs the losses. If members' costs are lower than the budget, St. Luke's keeps the savings, the report states.
3. While the St. Luke's-SelectHealth payment model launched in 2016, St. Luke's did not come in under budget that year and shouldered the loss. The health system and SelectHealth did not provide Idaho Statesman the deficit amount.
4. Dave Self, chief administrative officer of Boise-based St. Luke's Health Partners, the wholly owned subsidiary running the network, told the publication up until 2017, the plan was in "a foundational period where St. Luke's began putting infrastructure in place." Mr. Self added as the St. Luke's-SelectHealth plan experienced its first fully operational year this year, its financial results won't be available until July 1.
5. Despite the lack in savings, Mr. Self said, "We've already started seeing the quality measures be addressed by providers. I would say in the grand scheme of our plans that we would expect by 2020 to understand whether or not this model is successful as conceived."