Blue Cross Blue Shield Association recently unveiled a new action plan to improve healthcare quality and keep rising healthcare costs down. According to the press release on their website, BCBSA has designed a comprehensive plan that is interconnected to transform healthcare as we know it.
It ultimately moves away from a fee-for-service model to a more patient-centered plan. The plan is called “Building Tomorrow’s Healthcare System: The Pathway to High-Quality, Affordable Care in America” and offers a variety of suggestions for improvement in healthcare throughout the nation.
President and CEO of BCBSA, Scott P. Serota, believes the healthcare system needs to face fundamental changes so that everyone can have affordable, quality healthcare services. The patient needs to be put first and to do so will take some big changes. The system makes specific recommendations for the government to work with the private sector. The proposal gives actionable steps the government can take in four key areas.
The first area talked about in the press release is rewarding safety. They are looking to eliminate unnecessary medical errors and reward the healthcare systems that do so. They’re looking to do what works. The incentives in the system are designed to advance the best possible medical care and give rewards to the top outcomes as motivation.
The system strives to reinforce front-line care and inspire healthy living. With 75% of today’s healthcare costs going towards chronic illness it makes sense to invest more time and money into healthy lifestyles to eliminate the preventable diseases. It’s estimated that this new system could save about $319 billion over the next ten years, so it’s definitely worth a shot.
