To help achieve better care, smarter spending, and healthier people, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working in concert with partners in the private, public, and non-profit sectors to transform the nation’s health system to emphasize value over volume. HHS launched the LAN to help advance the work being done across sectors to increase the adoption of value-based payments and alternative payment models (APMs).
The LAN is about shifting away from the current fee-for-service (FFS) model of payment in our health care system (where having more services leads to higher payments, regardless of health outcome) to one that pays providers and hospitals for quality care and improved health.
Launch Event
On March 25, the LAN’s kickoff meeting featured opening remarks by former HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and President Obama. Participants included chief executive officers and senior leaders from across the health care community, including providers, payers, employers, patients, consumer groups, health experts, and state and federal government agencies. Participants represented a wide variety of interests including publicly traded companies, nonprofit organizations, urban facilities, rural providers, small practices, large systems, and national associations. This broad stakeholder participation will be critical to achieving the LAN’s goal of increasing the adoption of APMs that improve quality and reduce costs.
General
We want a better, smarter, and healthier U.S. health care system. In order to achieve this, we need to improve our payment structure by incentivizing quality and value over volume. This requires the participation of the entire health care community. Recognizing this, we established the LAN as a collaborative network of public and private stakeholders including health plans, providers, patients, employers, consumers, states, and federal agencies within the health care community. These stakeholders will accelerate the adoption of value-based payment by working together through the LAN to align efforts, capture best practices, disseminate information, and apply lessons learned. A Guiding Committee, multi-stakeholder work groups, and single-sector affinity groups will play critical roles in this work.
The goal of the LAN is to align private payers and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in moving payment from traditional fee-for-service (FFS) methods to FFS-linked to quality and alternative payment models (APMs). These payment reforms are expected to demonstrate better outcomes and lower costs for patients. By sharing information about successful models and encouraging private entities to share their best practices, the LAN works to reduce barriers and accelerate the adoption of alternative payment models.
A LAN Committed Partner is an organization that has committed to specific targets that match or exceed the established goals for accelerating APM adoption. A Partner also agrees to work with the LAN and to measure and report progress towards the goals it has set for transitioning to a system that advances quality and value over volume. You can find the guidelines for becoming a LAN Committed Partner here.
Once you have registered for the LAN, you will be part of a dynamic and growing network of engaged stakeholders. Through the LAN listserv, you will receive information about LAN webinars, Guiding Committee meetings, work groups, and the LAN Summit. You will also receive the LAN eNewsletter with highlights from meetings and information on other events and activities. The LAN website and a collaboration portal will provide relevant and timely information and provide opportunities for participants to contribute to and comment on the work produced by the LAN. Participants will be encouraged to share relevant information, lessons learned, and best practices related to APM adoption and the implementation of new payment methods. We continue to seek creative and effective ways to engage with you, and for participants to collaborate with each other. We encourage you to submit ideas by emailing us at PaymentNetwork@mitre.org.
Guiding Committee
The MITRE Corporation, as the operator of CAMH Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), is convening and independently managing the Guiding Committee on behalf of CMS. MITRE is a nonprofit organization operating strictly in the public interest. The LAN project is led by CAMH. CAMH will make decisions based on collaborative discussions, insights, and recommendations from Guiding Committee members and other LAN participants.
The purpose of the LAN Guiding Committee is to guide the LAN toward achieving its goals. The Guiding Committee is the primary leadership body of the LAN, serving in an advisory role to the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare (CAMH). The Guiding Committee collaborates with CAMH to develop a strategy for achieving the goals of the LAN, and oversees and endorses the work of the groups assembled to address specific topics. In addition, the Guiding Committee works with CAMH to develop and oversee the execution of plans to actively engage stakeholders, share and disseminate results, and accelerate learning and action. Guiding Committee members serve as ambassadors and liaisons to the communities in which they participate.
The Guiding Committee does not provide consensus decision-making or make policy recommendations to any governmental agency. All agreements, decisions, and recommendations made by the Guiding Committee are subject to review and approval by CAMH.
CAMH invited LAN participants to submit referrals for Guiding Committee members, and CAMH then carefully reviewed each referral. Potential candidates were contacted to discuss the expected work of the Guiding Committee, their anticipated contributions, and the required time commitment. CAMH made the final decision about Guiding Committee membership. A list of members can be found here.
Members were expected to serve for approximately two years, beginning in May 2015.
CAMH and the Guiding Committee members are committed to transparency and openness in order to build trust across the stakeholder community. Meeting agendas and summaries of Guiding Committee and work group conference calls as well as in-person meetings, are shared in the LAN eNewsletter and posted on the LAN website. In addition, Members will provide regular updates during monthly LAN Update webinars. Please monitor the LAN’s upcoming events calendar to identify virtual and in-person events in which you may participate.
Work Groups
The Guiding Committee and CAMH will form work groups that address critical barriers to APM adoption and develop practical, actionable, and operationally meaningful recommendations that align payers and accelerate adoption of APMs. The goal is to leverage and build on existing successes in order to make rapid progress. Participants in the March 25, 2015 LAN kick-off meeting provided valuable insights on key barriers and opportunities for alignment. Based on that input, Guiding Committee members will recommend work groups for consideration by CAMH.
Registered LAN participants can provide input to the Guiding Committee and suggest topics for work groups by emailing PaymentNetwork@mitre.org.
The first work group was launched in August 2015 and the two other work groups were convened in fall 2015. The first work group, the APM Framework and Progress Tracking Work Group, is focused on developing common payment reform terms and operational definitions, which will lay the foundation for the LAN’s work going forward. In addition, the work group will develop an approach for measuring progress toward achieving the LAN goals.
CAMH invites LAN participants to apply for or submit referrals for work group members. Potential candidates will be contacted to discuss the expected workload, the individual’s anticipated contributions, and the required time commitment. The opportunity to submit referrals for specific work groups will be announced through the e-newsletter and on the LAN web page.
There will be several opportunities to provide input and feedback to each work group. CAMH will establish an affiliated community listserv soon after each work group is established so as to engage participants who are specifically interested in that topic. Please watch for an announcement on how to join these communities. In addition, work group members will be sharing interim results and inviting feedback at the large in-person stakeholder events. CAMH will keep participants up to date on other methods to engage with the work groups, which could include regional in-person listening sessions, virtual meetings, and reviews of work products through the collaboration portal.
The Guiding Committee is the primary leadership body of the LAN. The Guiding Committee meets monthly and carries out its responsibilities by collaborating with the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare (CAMH) on strategy, establishing and overseeing work groups, and actively engaging stakeholders across the LAN to encourage commitments, share and disseminate results, and accelerate learning. Guiding Committee members serve as ambassadors and liaisons to the communities in which they participate.
View the Guiding Committee here.
Consumer and Patient Affinity Group (CPAG)
The Consumer and Patient Affinity Group (CPAG) is a channel for consumer and patient advocacy groups to provide important insights into the impact of APMs on patients and consumers, describe better health outcomes from the perspective of consumers and patients and define the care experience that APMs should deliver. CPAG members help identify consumer priorities and principles for APMs and inform the work of the Guiding Committee and Work Groups.
Purchasers/Employers Affinity Group (PAG)
CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare (CAMH)
The MITRE Corporation, as the operator of the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare (CAMH) Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), is convening and independently managing the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (LAN) Guiding Committee and Work Groups . MITRE is a not-for-profit operating strictly in the public interest. The LAN project is led by CAMH.
View the CAMH support team.
