Emerging Issues of Pay-for-Performance in Health Care

In the 1990s, managed care with capitation was regarded as the policy tool of choice that would control rising health care costs. An explicit emphasis on health care quality was largely absent, as administrative focus was on the cost per member / per month and provider organizations that fought to capture market share. In the new century, capitation has to some degree receded as the payment tool of preference as new thinking has spread through the health care marketplace. Health care is seen as entering an age in which both quality and efficiency are paramount in the purchase and delivery of health care.