Alternative Payment Models (APMs) Advocacy

The Academy has long advocated for alternative payment models as significant opportunities for family physicians ready to move away from fee-for-service (FFS), toward payment policies that promote and finance comprehensive, continuous, coordinated primary care.

Volume-based FFS care doesn’t adequately support the comprehensive, continuous nature of primary care, and it doesn’t keep costs in check. Value-based care (VBC), by contrast, is comprehensive and longitudinal, prioritizing quality and outcomes over quantity of services provided.

Value-based payment done right, with less reliance on FFS and more on prospective, population-based payments, supports flexible implementation of comprehensive, longitudinal, team-based care, and prioritizes quality and outcomes over quantity of services provided.

Why We Fight

Physician compensation should recognize the important work family physicians do every day, and address the value of prevention, health maintenance, early diagnosis, and early treatment. However, budget neutrality requirements and the lack of annual payment updates to account for inflation continue to hurt physician practices and undermine patient care. The Academy continues to urge Congress to enact policies that incentivize practices to transition to value-based payment models that ultimately improve health outcomes for patients and communities.