A new report from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health — based on findings from a survey of 2,757 dental providers in more than 20 states — reveals that there is a need for provider awareness and education about alternative payment models and that COVID-19 has created opportunities to advance alternative payment models within the oral health care system.
Some key findings from the report:
- Half of (51%) of responding providers have never heard of APMs in dentistry, while 35% had only heard of APMs or knew a little about them.
- APMs are increasingly being used both in Medicaid and Medicare and are even entering private insurance. Nearly 70% of Medicaid beneficiaries are enrolled in managed care plans today.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have a model of care and organizational infrastructure that may allow for an advantage for engaging in APMs and value-based care delivery systems.
Along with education and awareness, there is evidence that value-based care models in dentistry need to be piloted and tested. A value-based care payment approach in dentistry will involve incremental approaches since public financing plays a smaller role in dentistry than in medicine.
You may also be interested in:
- Oral Health Value-Based Care: The Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Story, a white paper that explores how and why community health centers are often well-positioned to adopt value-based care.
- A Difficult Path to COVID-19 Recovery, a report that explores the ways COVID-19 has changed how dentists will practice going forward.
- Oral Health Value-Based Care Education Series, an online learning series that highlights the integration of oral health care into primary health care, the benefits of implementing payment reform and shares stories of VBC transformation in action.
- A Three Domain Framework to Innovating Oral Health Care, a white paper that outlines a new model in dentistry that will be more cost-effective, efficient and equitable.
