Business and governments continue to exert pressure on insurance companies and health-care providers to reduce the costs of health insurance and increase efficiency while preserving the quality of care. This has resulted in the development of unique payment practices, many of which attempt to shift the financial risk of care to the provider. After all, some argue, who better than the provider to better manage the cost of care?
This realignment of incentives may make sense. There is an increasingly popular line of thinking that relying solely on the fee-for-service model is perilous for health-care providers, and that the best way to approach demands for cost reduction and the uncertainty of health-care reform is head on — to align yourself with the right allies and develop a clear business plan, which may include strategies previously viewed as unorthodox.
