Bundled Payments Bring Cost Predictability: Robert Baird, RN, MSA

Bundled payment models offer both price predictability for employers and payment predictability for community oncology practices while improving patient access to quality cancer care, Robert Baird, RN, MSA, said during an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit on September 15.

At the meeting, Baird, who is president of the National Cancer Treatment Alliance (NCTA), moderated “The Future Oncology Care Ecosystem: Bundled Payment Models,” a session featuring panelists Joe O’Hara of Vantris Oncology and Jenny Zaiser of Transcarent. Throughout the session, all 3 experts explored the benefits of bundled payment models in sustaining the oncology care ecosystem, highlighting opportunities for community oncology practices to participate through Vantris Oncology and NCTA. They also discussed how these models can align incentives, support coordinated care, and improve value for patients and employers.

During the interview, Baird explained that bundled, or episode-based, payments consolidate all services associated with a course of care into a single, comprehensive payment structure. Because the services are included in a single payment, practices are relieved of the administrative burden of billing and collecting separately for each piece of the care continuum, he said.

A central theme of the interview was ease of implementation for community oncology practices. Baird described a model developed through NCTA and Vantris Oncology that is designed for minimal operational change. For seamless adoption, practices enter the Vantris payer ID into their existing billing systems and continue submitting claims as they always have, with no change in operations or processes, he said.

In addition, Baird noted that packaging comprehensive services into a single payment program gives employers price predictability.

“By packaging all the comprehensive services together into one payment program, employers do get price predictability, so they know their cost for budgeting purposes and for the future,” he told AJMC. “Then, the practices know what payment they'll be receiving for all the services they're providing in order to provide high-quality, high-value care to their patients.”

Looking ahead, Baird pointed to broader strategic benefits for participating practices, including the opportunity to capture greater patient volume in their markets, build closer relationships with employers, and access resources that position them within a growing nationwide network of practices adopting the model.