CEO, Pacific Business Group on Health


"Value"

Peter Lee

was the key word in the presentation by Peter Lee, CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health.

The massive amounts of money now being put into the system are not buying enough quality, he said. In fact, he noted, the system rewards quantity of treatment, with few incentives to encourage quality.

"We need to reward physicians by paying them differently for doing a better job," Lee said.

In addition to tying payments to performance, Lee said the other elements needed to add value to the system - starting in Medicare - are quality measurements and public reporting of treatment outcomes. He noted, however, that there are obstacles to these reforms, primarily lobbyists for health care providers.

"The folks on [Capitol] Hill don't hear from the public," Lee said. "They don't hear how the public would benefit from these Medicare changes."

Lee's PowerPoint presentation is available here.