A key reform goal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act was to create a healthcare system that rewards providers for achieving optimal care outcomes at a sustainable cost.

A key reform goal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act was to create a healthcare system that rewards providers for achieving optimal care outcomes at a sustainable cost. As part of the law, the federal government has tested and implemented several new payment models designed to achieve this goal for the Medicare program; Such payments are presented to a great extent in the Medicare Cost Report (MCR). For this week, your assignment is to explore the role the MCR plays in a value – based health care system.  Specifically, address issues included in the report like facility characteristics, utilization data, cost and charges by cost center.  Furthermore, choose a couple of utilization metrics (data) and address how it is computed. Please assume a hospital setting.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review the following website for more help in starting your paper: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare

Analyze the current economic shift from volume-based health care to value-based health care. What economic principles (macro and micro) are driving this shift? What role does the Medicare Cost Report play in this shift?

Evaluate implications of this volume to value shift. How has this shift affected how you work or how you or a family member has been treated for a medical condition?

By Day 3

Post a cohesive response to the following:

Analyze economic principles that are driving the shift from volume-based health care to value-based health care. Then, evaluate implications of this volume to value shift. Provide an example of how this shift has affected how you work or how you or a family member has been treated for a medical condition.

Support your response by identifying and explaining key points and/or examples presented in the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings. Consider how your colleagues’ postings relate to the information presented in the Learning Resources and to your own posting.

By Day 5

Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ postings and continue the Discussion through Day 7. Expand on this Discussion by describing challenges associated with the shift from volume-based to value-based health care. Include how you might approach this challenge in a health care organization.