​Today, the Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) to comment on the Finance Committee's work to address chronic diseases. PIPC outlined a series of observations and recommendations focused on improving patient outcomes and empowering Medicare patients to play a greater role in managing their health and meaningfully engaging with health care providers. Specific policy recommendations included in the letter are the establishment of formalized mechanisms to provide a voice for patients in the creation and testing of alternative payment models (APMs); the expansion of available quality measures and incentivizing their production in APMs; and the fostering of informed choices from the range of clinical care options.

​There is an abundance of evidence that indicates patients who are active in their own healthcare decisions have better outcomes at lower costs.  As such, steps to increase patient engagement in their health care represent a significant opportunity for policy-makers.  Yet, patients often find themselves feeling disempowered and hopeless when facing a healthcare decision because the current United States (U.S.) health care system does not provide adequate tools to be effectively engaged.  The shift to so-called “value-based” or alternative payment models provides an important opportunity to improve patient engagement. However, achieving this opportunity requires understanding what patients value and structuring new payment models in ways that engage patients based on their values.