CMWF - Paying for Performance

Patricia Seliger Keenan, M.H.S., and Janet Kline
The Commonwealth Fund
November 2004

www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=247163

Studies show that current provider payment systems tend to discourage quality
improvement in the health care system. A frequently suggested solution is “paying for performance,” a reference to a range of strategies to reorient payment incentives by rewarding efforts to improve quality.

Quality problems have been documented for decades, both in fee-for-service and managed care delivery systems. Paying for performance is a relatively new approach to address longstanding quality problems, by rewarding providers for delivering care that is clinically effective and results inimproved health.