A National Goal to Advance Health Equity Through Value-Based Payment

Liao et al propose payment reforms to incentivize health equity, including setting of national goals, equity audits of payment models independent of quality and cost, and creation of a payment equity learning and action network to guide the work of achieving payment equity goals. Nearly a decade ago, federal policy makers set an intention to make health care more financially sustainable, affordable, and efficient by shifting the national health care system toward value. Setting that policy intention proved to be a critical step for signaling direction and informing expectations for the health care industry, prompting years of broad engagement and work to improve health care delivery. However, that progress has not translated into analogous progress in reducing the critical problem of health inequities in the US.