Statement by Healthcare Leadership Council President Mary R. Grealy on HHS Proposed Regulations to Advance Value-Based Care

We applaud the Department of Health and Human Services for launching regulatory action aimed at advancing value-based care and enabling greater care coordination to benefit patients.  While we will be reviewing the proposed rules in detail and providing comment to HHS, this effort to modernize the Physician Self-Referral Law and the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute is an important step forward in shaping a healthcare system that consistently provides high-quality care while containing costs.

It is essential that the federal government continue to provide consumer protections to those who utilize healthcare services.   It has been abundantly clear, however, that the current regulatory structure to prevent fraud and abuse is ill suited for a time in which fee-for-service healthcare is giving way to value-based, collaborative approaches.  At a time in which health sectors and entities need to break free from their individual silos and work cooperatively to strengthen and coordinate patient care, current regulations often pose serious barriers to doing so.  Modernizing these rules can enable patient-centered health system transformation.

It needs to be said that these proposed rules are the first step in a process that must also include congressional action to bring the relevant laws into this modern era of healthcare.  That this process has started is good news for patients and we applaud Secretary Azar, Deputy Secretary Hargan, and CMS Administrator Verma for their vision of what American healthcare can and should be.