California Medi-Cal Considering Fee-For-Service Value-Based Purchasing: Potentially Preventable Readmissions First Target

The state of California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) is exploring a recent budget proposal by Governor Jerry Brown that would establish a value-based purchasing (VBP) program for fee-for-service Medicaid beginning July 1, 2012; avoidable hospital readmissions are among the first VBP targets. Potential program changes also mentioned in the governor’s proposal included lower laboratory rates and no longer paying for services of limited value. Additional VBP changes would focus on developing payment and rate mechanisms linked to cost effectiveness, efficiency, and quality. The VBP program would affect provider organizations serving the approximately 3.2 million . . .