Delivery System Reforms

Historically, Medicare’s fee-for-service payment systems rewarded providers for the volume of services they provided to the program’s beneficiaries and were indifferent to the quality of care. The more services a provider delivered, the higher its Medicare revenues, and Medicare made the same payments to high-quality providers as it did to lower quality providers. Delivery and payment reforms aim to break down the adverse incentives of fee-for-service payments and improve and coordinate the care Medicare beneficiaries receive, while reducing program spending. The Commission analyzes patterns of care and evaluates delivery and payment reform proposals, making recommendations to the Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services as warranted.