Newton, Mass.-based McKesson Health Solutions and HealthQX, based in King of Prussia, Pa., this week announced an alliance designed to help payers quickly design and scale complex bundled payment models and then provide timely and accurate payment to providers.
In the new agreement, payers will first use HealthQX’s ClarityQx for claims analysis and then use McKesson’s Episode Management and other McKesson value-based reimbursement (VBR) solutions. According to a press release from both vendors, the combined solutions close the gaps that can impede or derail bundled payment programs, as payers and providers define how payments should be administered or, later, as payers attempt to scale operations to enterprise levels.
HealthQX, a healthcare analytics vendor, and health IT vendor McKesson will jointly market their solutions to their respective customers, as well as coordinate consulting and service offerings. The alliance gives payers access to an “end-to-end solution experience and a single point of contact when innovating bundled payment programs, the companies said.
“Interest in bundled payment as a fast path to value-based reimbursement (VBR) has never been greater, and payers and providers alike need help getting started and scaling up,” Carolyn Wukitch, senior vice president of McKesson Health Solutions said in a statement. “The power of our combined solutions will help customers with retrospective or prospective payment programs across the board, from the front-end analysis, where HealthQX is a leader, to automating and scaling operations within their claim workflow using McKesson’s innovative suite of value-based reimbursement solutions.”
Just last month the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the final rule for its first mandatory bundled payment program. Starting in April, acute care hospitals in targeted regions will receive bundled payments for lower extremity joint replacements or reattachments. This supports the CMS’s goal of having 30 percent of reimbursement made via alternative payments this year and 50 percent by 2018.
