November 19, 2020: MGMA and other leading health groups urge Congress to maintain value-based care incentives beyond COVID-19

November 19, 2020 
 

Dear Senate Majority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Schumer, and House Minority Leader McCarthy:

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we appreciate your leadership and actions that Congress has taken to ensure providers are able to combat the COVID-19 virus and respond to the public health emergency. The pandemic has highlighted the need to continue the transition to value-based care that promotes care coordination across the traditional healthcare silos. Providers operating in alternative payment models (APMs) are aptly equipped to respond to the pandemic by leveraging existing community relationships and aligned networks of providers across the continuum to develop comprehensive approaches to maintain the health of the community and treat patients with COVID-19. Additionally, providers in APMs rapidly expanded existing capabilities, such as care management, call centers, remote monitoring and telehealth, to meet the shifting care needs resulting from COVID-19. The response of providers across the country to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant financial challenges for many. If we had made more progress in value-based care APMs prior to COVID-19, including risk-based and capitated arrangements, many providers could have avoided the financial challenges they faced.
 

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