62% of Consumers Unfamiliar with Value-Based Care, Study Finds

More than half of consumers are unfamiliar with value-based care, and for the ones who are aware of it, only a quarter can define the healthcare model correctly, a new study from nonprofit health plan EmblemHealth revealed.

The payer surveyed 970 consumers online between August 12 and August 22, 2021, and found that there is a critical need for healthcare providers and payers to educate consumers about value-based care.

Although value-based care is a common topic in the healthcare industry, many individuals who could benefit from this care model are not even aware it exists.

Only 26 percent of consumers responded that they have heard the term “value-based care,” compared to 62 percent who said no and 12 percent who were not sure. Out of the respondents who answered yes, the majority did not know what the term meant or gave an inaccurate definition of it.

More than half of the consumers who have heard of value-based care (58 percent) reported that they heard it from their health plan. Forty percent heard it from their doctor and 27 percent reported hearing it in the media or from a news outlet.

To further understand how consumers view healthcare, EmblemHealth asked participants what aspect they associated most with the term “value.” Quality of care was the most popular (31 percent), followed by out-of-pocket costs.

Value-based payment models reimburse providers for quality patient outcomes rather than the number of services rendered, which promotes lower costs and better care quality for patients—the two areas consumers care about the most, according to the study. This indicates that if consumers were aware of value-based care and what it accomplished, they would likely support it.

“Our findings show that it is crucial for healthcare leaders to improve communications around the purpose and benefits of value-based care,” Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive officer of EmblemHealth, said in a press release. “Now is the time for health plans, clinicians, and policymakers to bring clarity, communication, and understanding of consumer familiarity with this language.”

Additionally, when consumers were given distinct definitions of value-based care that emphasized different aspects, the definitions that mentioned quality of care and affordable care resonated with respondents the most.

After reading the value-based care definitions, more than 75 percent of all consumers responded that the message helped communicate the importance of value-based care and helped them understand was value-based care is. The majority of consumers also said the message made them more likely to visit a provider who uses a value-based care model.

Providers and payers should make an effort to communicate the message of value-based care to their patients and members, according to 63 percent of the study respondents.

Younger Black and Latinx consumers enrolled in Medicaid or HMO plans were more likely to think that it is important for their providers and payer to use value-based care, whereas older consumers on Medicare who were unaware of the care model did not see as much importance in its use.

“As the healthcare system continues to shift toward value-based care, this survey gives us evidence that consumers are being left out of the conversation,” Ignagni concluded. “We need to explain what new structures and practices actually mean to people to ensure they are empowered to make the best choices for their health journeys.”