CATALYST - Catalyst for Payment Reform

You too can be a health care Catalyst.

April 3, 2023

Like any 501c3 nonprofit (and many organizations for that matter), CPR must remain nimble. We recently setup the capability to accept tax-deductible contributions to fund our important work. You can also get involved with CPR. For example, you can become a member, participate in our enterprise subscription program, collaborate with us on research or thought leadership. Know that regardless of how you contribute, your support is going to a small, but mighty organization tackling health care’s biggest challenges on behalf of employer-purchasers.

2023 Health Plan User Groups: No dog and pony shows allowed

January 23, 2023

Granted, most HPUG meetings veer more toward “engaged conversation” than “heated debate” but this is how CPR moves the Overton Window. CPR members don’t just ask health plans for updates on how many dollars they’ve dedicated to their bundled payment program: we push them to respond to tough questions in new territory like data sharing, health equity and their post-COVID payment reform strategies. We make them all take the same test through our program evaluation tools so they can’t cherry-pick statistics or hide behind shiny marketing materials. And because CPR members set the agenda for the HPUG meetings, the discussions focus on what matters most to you, purchasers, and what keeps you up at night. It’s OK if the health plans squirm a little; it’s what helps them grow.

Mythbuster: Purchasers Can’t Fight the Wave of Provider Market Power

January 13, 2023

on is a massive wave fueled by provider consolidation, increased expenses, and pent-up demand for services (resulting in higher utilization), and it appears ready to break over the industry, bringing with it higher health care prices and [even more] unfavorable market dynamics for employer-purchasers and health plans. Against this wall of provider market power, purchasers may feel powerless with no way to protect themselves but there are both preventive actions and countermeasures they can take to mitigate the impact.

Whatever we’re doing, it’s not working: The Case for State Policy Intervention in Health Care, as told through a parable about toddlers and swimming lessons

January 9, 2023

younger daughter Dylan was three, she emphatically declared that she hated swimming lessons. Unfortunately for her, she has a mother (me) who believes with equal conviction that learning to swim is a safety issue and therefore non-negotiable. Thus, Dylan and I were at an impasse, except that one of us (me) believed that she could convince the other (Dylan) to relent through a combination of authority and influence (and also bribery). One afternoon at our local pool, I found myself pleading, cajoling, promising sweets and screen time (and threatening their removal), if Dylan would just allow me to help her into her bathing suit. “You don’t even have to go in the water!” I lied. Dylan didn’t buy it and was expressing her mistrust in a 9-alarm screaming toddler melt-down. It was at that moment that another woman – likely old enough to have grown children of her own – paused and offered the following counsel: whatever you’re trying to do, she said, it isn’t working.

CPR’s New Year’s Resolutions

December 23, 2022

As an independent, nonprofit organization with the mission to catalyze employers, public purchasers and others to implement strategies that produce higher value health care and improve the functioning of the health care marketplace, we pride ourselves on our being forward thinking and agile. So, it’s no surprise that we make a list of New Year’s resolutions every year. This year, we share it with you.

Catalyst for Payment Reform Filed Amicus Brief in Support of Plaintiff’s Appeal in Sidibe vs. Sutter Health

December 6, 2022

n the one dozen years since CPR began, we have tackled a number of big issues in health care, pushing for effective payment reform, helping to launch the price transparency movement, and sounding the alarm on growing provider market power, among others.

CPR’s Thanksgiving Top Pods Blog

November 18, 2022

CPR is thankful for all the top health care minds who have taken time out of their busy schedules to join us on our Podcast, Listening In (With Permission). CPR surpassed 100 episodes this year and we are not slowing down. Please take the time to listen to our top 5 most listened to episodes of 2022 (so far).

Is Payment Reform Exiting a 2+Year Shelter-in-Place?

November 14, 2022

The pandemic stimulated significant uncertainty about the future of payment reform. After all, payment reform is a disruptive strategy, requiring providers to modify practice patterns and payers to negotiate measures of performance by which providers are held accountable for care quality. The early days of the pandemic were a time during which pushing payers and providers on payment reform could have been viewed as being out of touch with the magnitude of the situation. The pandemic created a pause and stimulated leaders to rethink the potential of payment reform. For example, we pondered whether hybrid capitation/fee-for-service would gain momentum as a means for primary care providers to receive guaranteed revenue. And we continue to ponder it, because frankly, our $4+ trillion health care system doesn’t turn on a dime. CPR has been and remains in the

A Peek at CPR’s Equity Journey

October 24, 2022

As 2020 came to an end and the call to address equity in all facets of society, health care included, was at a ground swell, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

I decided to shop knee surgery in the San Francisco Bay Area, using the Sage Transparency tool. Here’s what I found…

July 18, 2022

In full disclosure, at the moment, I (thankfully) do not need knee surgery. But I might easily need it someday. I run a lot, my neighborhood is very hilly, and

The Time is Now: Purchasers, Give High-Performance Networks a Serious Look

June 20, 2022

At the risk of appearing tone deaf, we think it’s time for employers and other health care purchasers to give high-performance network plans a serious look. Yes, we realize employers

One More Thing to Add to the Benefits Manager’s Job Description

June 6, 2022

If you go to any job search site and look at open positions for a Director of Benefits, you’ll likely see common themes: the ideal candidate will develop and implement

Is it Time to Throw the Book at the Health Care Market?

May 23, 2022

Purchasers, brace yourselves for a radical idea: the time has come for state governments to restore balance, competition and affordability to health care markets. Recognizing that regulation is usually considered

Mental Health Care is Evolving. So Are Purchasers’ Strategies.

May 16, 2022

If ever there was a worldwide phenomenon that perfectly captured the concept of “two sides of the same coin” it would be COVID-19. The pandemic exploited the weaknesses of our

Reunited and it Feels So Good: CPR’s April 2022 Staff Retreat

May 2, 2022

Catalyst for Payment Reform, like many employers or teams, has operated in a fully remote work environment since the start of the pandemic. Last week, our team had our first

Implicit Bias: The Outcomes Tell Us What Black Mothers Already Know

April 11, 2022

April 11-17 is Black Maternal Health Week, which shines a spotlight on the disproportionately poor maternal health care and health outcomes Black mothers experience. While these outcomes are the proof,

From Political Organizing to CPR: Why the Two are not that Different

March 14, 2022

My name is Torie Nugent-Peterson and I’m the newest member of the Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR) team. As CPR’s Operations and Marketing Associate, I will be responsible for coordinating

Understanding the Bioethics Behind Employer Vaccine Mandates for COVID-19

September 7, 2021

Should employers impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates? The keyword here is “should” (“can” is a legal question that has already been largely answered and is not the subject of this blog). But “should vaccination be required” leaves room for debate. While bioethical analyses typically rely on multiple frameworks, this blog should be considered a primer on two of the ‘hallmark’ bioethical principles: autonomy and justice.

Fearsome Beast or Toothless Tiger? A look at the Hospital Price Transparency Rules

August 2, 2021

Will the updated penalties and clarifications proposed by CMS compel hospitals into compliance? The jury is out, but the impact of the proposed updated rules depends heavily on enforcement.

Feeding two birds with one seed: payment reform, telehealth, & health equity

July 27, 2021

Will telehealth help save health care from unsustainable cost growth and inequities in outcomes? Or will it do the opposite?
Stakeholders across the health care industry are currently drafting their telehealth roadmaps for the future. Virtual-first health plan products are popping up. Providers are figuring out how much of their patient care will continue to stay virtual post-pandemic and studying best practices to effectively engage diverse patients. At the federal level, Congress introduced the CONNECT for Health Act of 2021, which seeks to codify telehealth provisions made during the public health emergency permanently into Medicare. The time is now for health care purchasers – including states – to demand telehealth programs and policies with two clear goals in mind:
Be financially sustainable for those who use and pay for it
Be implemented so that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to benefit

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