Despite a modest 3.9% rise in 2011, the United States continues to spend more on health care than any other industrialized nation. Many analysts believe a major reason health care spending is so much higher in the US is due to how care is paid for — in ways that reward the quantity of services over quality.

CHCF held a Sacramento briefing designed for legislative and executive branch staff and others interested in how we pay for care, as well as new payment models with the potential to deliver better value, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs). A second event on price transparency — how much we pay — will be held later this year.

Suzanne Delbanco and Andréa Caballero, from Catalyst for Payment Reform, presented a scorecard on California payment reform efforts and progress toward value-oriented payment. Joy Grossman, from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), discussed ACO development in California by region.

The presenters were:

• Andréa Caballero, program director, Catalyst for Payment Reform
• Suzanne Delbanco, executive director, Catalyst for Payment Reform
• Joy Grossman, senior health researcher, HSC
• Maribeth Shannon, director of the Market and Policy Monitor program, CHCF

A video of the event is below, and the speakers’ presentation slides are available under Document Downloads.