McKesson and HealthQX Announce Alliance to Accelerate Value-Based Payment
NEWTON, Mass. & KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McKesson Health Solutions and HealthQX™ have signed an agreement designed to help payers quickly design and scale complex bundled payment models, and help ensure those innovative programs provide timely and accurate payment to providers. The announcement was made at the HFMA’s annual National Payment Innovation Summit, being held this week in Memphis, Tenn.
The agreement unites industry leaders whose combined offerings start with claims analysis, using HealthQX’s ClarityQx, and extend to enterprise-class operation using McKesson's Episode Management™ and other VBR (value-based reimbursement) solutions from McKesson. This closes the gaps that can impede or derail bundled payment programs, as payers and providers define how payments should be administered or, later, as payers attempt to scale operations to enterprise levels.
The news couldn’t come at a better time for payers and providers struggling to master the complexity of bundled payment models. Just last month the CMS implemented the final rule for its first mandatory bundled payment program. Starting in April, acute care hospitals in targeted regions will receive bundled payments for lower extremity joint replacements or reattachments. This supports the CMS’s goal of having 30% of reimbursement made via alternative payments this year and 50% by 2018.
“Interest in bundled payment as a fast path to VBR has never been greater, and payers and providers alike need help getting started and scaling up,” said Carolyn Wukitch, senior vice president of McKesson Health Solutions. “The power of our combined solutions will help customers with retrospective or prospective payment programs across the board, from the front-end analysis, where HealthQX is a leader, to automating and scaling operations within their claim workflow using McKesson’s innovative suite of value-based reimbursement solutions.”
Under the terms of the agreement, HealthQX and McKesson will jointly market their solutions to their respective customers, as well as coordinate consulting and service offerings. This gives payers access to an end-to-end solution experience and a single point of contact when innovating bundled payment programs.
“This is an industry first, because it gives the industry access to an end-to-end bundled payment solution,” said Mark McAdoo, CEO of HealthQX. “Payers will be able to ensure the highest accuracy and timeliness of provider payments with a truly enterprise-class solution. We look forward to working with McKesson on our shared vision of helping the industry accelerate its transition to value.”
About HealthQX
HealthQX (HQX) is the progressive leader in value-based payment (VBP) analytic software solutions for health plans and providers. Our VBP analytics platform, ClarityQx, provides the capabilities to design, implement and monitor the on-going performance of payment models such as episodic, bundled or accountable care arrangements. Through these capabilities ClarityQx delivers actionable intelligence to the care enterprise in order to operationalize the optimal payment models that reward higher quality care at a lower cost. For more information, visit healthqx.com.
About McKesson
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 11th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. McKesson partners with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.