Pay-for-performance fails to improve quality of health care payer programs

Double bonuses paid to some Medicare Advantage plans under a pay-for-performance program did not result in higher quality ratings, according to research conducted by the University of Michigan. In fact, the only measurable change from the extra investment in quality was nearly a 6 percent increase in the number of plans offered, said lead author and IHPI member, Andrew Ryan.

"What we found is that those double payments cost over $1 billion annually. That's a lot of money paid for extra quality that we just didn't see," said Ryan.