House hearing examines barriers to value-based care

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee yesterday held a hearing examining legal and regulatory barriers to innovation and value-based care in Medicare. Nishant Anand, M.D., chief medical officer for Adventist Health System and chairman of its accountable care organization, said barriers to effectively redesigning care delivery include the physician self-referral (or Stark) law, which he called “a minefield” due to its “huge financial penalty risks” and unclear provisions; misaligned payment incentives in valued-based models; and barriers to the interoperability of electronic health record data. Also testifying at the hearing were representatives from the National Association of ACOs, Digestive Health Physicians Association, Healthcare Leadership Council, App Association and Call9.