Bill Authorizes Value-Based Medicare Advantage Demo

Reps. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) have introduced the Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID) for Better Care Act of 2014,a measure that would establish a regional demonstration program for high-quality Medicare Advantage plans to utilize V-BID to reduce the co-payments or coinsurance for beneficiaries with specific chronic conditions.

"In doing so, beneficiaries are provided with increased access to the care they need to ensure better health outcomes," said Black. "V-BID allows plans with the flexibility needed to offer the best possible care coordination for disease management, and provides the right incentives for beneficiaries."

Specific provisions of the bill include:

*Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program to test V-BID methodologies in Medicare Advantage plans for beneficiaries with chronic clinical conditions (for example, increased access to insulin for people with diabetes or beta blockers for people with heart disease);

*Allows Medicare Advantage plans the option to use V-BID benefits to lower co-payments and coinsurance to encourage the use of specific, evidence-based medications or clinical services and/or specific high-performing providers

*Explicitly prohibitsplans from increasing co-payments or coinsurance to discourage use of services;

*Requires an independent review, assessment, and report on the impact of the demonstration program; and

*Expands the demonstration program to allow all Medicare Advantage plans to pursue V-BID should the report conclude the demonstration has lowered costs and increased quality for beneficiaries.

V-BID was conceptualized and developed by a multidisciplinary team of faculty at the University of Michigan's Center for Value-Based Insurance Design.

The bill text is available here.