The health care system is moving to models that seek to pay for value. In January 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) accelerated the movement towards value-based payments by setting a goal to shift 50 percent of Medicare fee-for-service payments to alternative payment models (APMs) by 2018.1 The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is playing a significant role in advancing value-based or alternative payment models. In addition, many State health agencies and private payers are exploring similar changes. However, CMMI and other payers lack sound procedures and standards for patient-centeredness. Patient-centered approaches to value-based payment are needed to ensure that new payment models support value that matters to patients. To get it right, patient engagement is essential.

​Value frameworks and similar value assessment tools are playing an increasingly prominent role in health care as insurance companies, Medicare, state agencies, and other stakeholders all are working rapidly toward "value-based" payment models. But will they pay for care that patients value? The Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) was founded on principles of patient-centeredness that cannot be achieved without engaging patients and people with disabilities. For the transition to a value-based health system to achieve outcomes that matter to patients, patients must have a seat at the table in defining value through the development of the value frameworks and tools.