April 2023
Physician enablement: Value-based care
As US healthcare spend continues to grow, value-based care could curb the costs and result in better patient outcomes.
Key takeaways
- US healthcare spending has grown at a staggering pace over the past few decades, tripling from approximately 6% of GDP in 1970 to nearly 20% in 2020, while comparable developed countries have "only" doubled to 11%.
- One potential solution to curb rising costs is physician enablement. According to BofA Global Research, not only could this help to better manage healthcare costs, but as primary care physicians play a role in influencing nearly 100% of downstream healthcare spending despite representing just 6% of actual spend (source: Humana), it could also result in better patient outcomes.
- In a capitation approach to value-based care, providers receive a fixed, per-person (or "capitated") payment that covers all health care services over a defined period, adjusted for each patient's expected needs, and are also held more accountable for high-quality outcomes.
Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
