Blue Cross of California pays $31M in P4P bonuses

It's another prosperous year for a select group of medical practices and IPAs, that are getting $31 million in pay-for-performance bonuses this year from Blue Cross of California. This follows a 2006 payout of $55 million for participating physician groups.

About half of the money is part of the Integrated Healthcare Association's statewide P4P program. Roughly 35,000 physicians in 210 groups are eligible for P4P payments under the state's larger Integrated Healthcare Association program, which counts BC of California as a member.

The BC of California's program gathers its own metrics for clinical care, such as the immunization status of covered children and use of appropriate meds by asthma patients, patient satisfaction and use of information technology.

To learn more about the P4P program:
- read this San Francisco Business Times article

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