Tim Daley, Vice President, Partner Development

Along with almost 4,000 others, Remedy Partners attended the 68th Annual American Health Care Association/ National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) Convention & Expo last week in Las Vegas, NV. The four-day conference, attended mostly by long-term and acute care providers, featured thought-provoking sessions and events that covered the future of post-acute care and discussed how post-acute providers, particularly skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), can succeed under value-based care.

While the focus in Washington, D.C. is on payment reform and potential Medicaid cuts, it was clear from the conference sessions “Residents Helping Residents Live Purposeful Lives” and “Doing Better Together,” that SNFs remain focused on the transition from volume to value and providing the highest quality care for patients.

One session that was particularly relevant to our role in helping SNFs with this transition was “Who’s Paying the Bill? Understanding Today’s Payment Models.” It discussed how alternative payment models, such as voluntary bundled payments, are key to improving care redesign and coordination and how they accelerate progress toward value-based care. The session explored key concepts such as data analytics, quality metrics and how providers that have directly taken risk, or interacted with others taking risk, benefit as a result.

In the coming months, SNFs will face an important decision whether they, too, should take on risk that can lead to greater rewards. The enrollment period for the advanced iteration of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative will be brief and shouldn’t be missed. SNFs that enroll in the BPCI Model 3 program stand to gain rewards that stem from greater efficiencies and better patient outcomes during an episode of care. Having a trusted partner that will not only advise them on the likelihood of success under BPCI Advanced, but also assume risk, can help motivate SNFs to take the important steps of implementing and executing a value-based transformation strategy.

Based on what we saw at last week’s conference, and as we look ahead to 2018, it is clear that opportunities for SNFs to succeed in a value-based system are greater than ever. By exploring bundled payments as a way to continue providing high-quality patient care, safety and satisfaction, SNFs can position themselves to reap rewards under value-based care.