Quality at a Price: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications of a Pay-for-Performance Strategy

Award Year: 2006	Investigator: Gary Young	Budget: $275,003	Categories: Payment Methods
Abstract: Are pay-for-performance (P4P) programs, which provide financial incentives to health care providers for achieving quality targets, the silver bullet for improving health care quality or just another fad? While many health plans located throughout the United States, as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, are creating P4P programs, their ability to improve health care quality and reduce costs has not been established. Gary J. Young, J.D., Ph.D. has evaluated several national demonstration projects of P4P and finds mixed results so far. His Investigator Award project, Quality at a Price: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications of a Pay-for-Performance Strategy, assesses the value of P4P and challenges to its implementation. Young also examines the effects of P4P on clinicians' attitudes toward their work and sense of professionalism, and whether P4P programs can lead some providers to avoid sicker or less compliant patients. The results of his study should help guide policy decisions about investing, designing, and implementing P4P, and where it can be applied most effectively.