Health and Disability

The result of seven months of collaboration and discussion among the members of the Advisory Group for Consumer Priorities, which I co-chaired, recently culminated in a new multi-stakeholder, consensus-based framework,“Addressing Consumer Priorities in Value-Based Care: Guiding Principles and Key Questions.”  As one of the members tasked with representing consumers and consumer advocates, I am pleased that the recommendations made by the Advisory Group were fully endorsed by the diverse membership of the entire Task Force and are present in the final white paper.

The resulting document should raise eyebrows: this is a big deal. The Task Force is comprised 42 member organizations and individuals, which includes representation from six of the nation’s top 15 health systems and four of the top 25 health insurers, as well as leading national organizations representing employers, patients and their families, and the policy community.

This white paper should open the door for consumers and consumer advocates to have an increasingly meaningful seat at the table for discussions about value-based, people-centered care. In assessing their own consumer engagement efforts, plans, providers and payers agreed to examine the following six principles:

1. Include patients/consumers as partners in decision-making at all levels of care. For example, are patients/consumers included as integral partners in all aspects of health care decision-making at every level, from system-level reform design to point-of-care decisions?
2. Deliver person-centered care. For example, are patients/consumers and those who support them at the center of the care team?
3. Design alternative payment models (APMs) that benefit consumers. For example, do APMs achieve cost-savings only through improvements in health and health care and ensure beneficiary rights and protections?
4. Drive continuous quality improvement. For example, do the health care transformation policies and practices drive continuous quality improvement?
5. Accelerate use of person-centered health information technology. For example, do alternative payment and care delivery models accelerate the effective use of person-centered health information technology?
6. Promote health equity for all. For example, does the health care delivery system and payment reform model promote health equity and seek to reduce disparities in access to care and in health outcomes for all?