Acting CMS administrator urges incremental shifts from volume to value

Acting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner wants the industry to phase out fee-for-service models and make incremental reimbursement reforms, Medscape Today reported. "We probably could move faster in some areas," Tavenner said during her confirmation hearing this week. "But I would be very nervous about setting an arbitrary target [for ending fee-for-service]. I'd rather that we do an incremental, aggressive strategy."

The National Commission on Physician Payment Reform touted a similar plan in its March report. The commission said the transition to value-based care should start with testing of new models over five years and end with broad adoption by the end of the decade.