Optum & Merck Partner To Advance Value-Based Contracting Of Pharmaceuticals

On May 27, 2017, Optum, the health services business of UnitedHealth Group, and Merck announced the launch of a multi-year collaboration to study value-based pharmacy contracting. Specifically, they will evaluate Outcomes-Based Risk Sharing Agreements (OBRSAs), a pay-for-performance model in which payers link reimbursement to outcomes of consumers using specific medications; pharmacy reimbursement can rise or fall depending on whether the consumers' outcomes meet expectations outlined in the agreements.

Neither Optum nor Merck announced the types of medications to be tested in this collaboration, but the announcement did note that the collaboration will be focused on . . .