Contracting Web Summit e-Poll Results

By Clive Riddle, May 18, 2012

Survey results are now available from the Contracting e-poll held in conjunction with HealthcareWebSummit’s 2012 Contracting Web Summit, which provide a measure of stakeholder contracting views and priorities, with comparisons to previous year’s answers.

Participants were asked to respond to three items:

1.  Please categorize your organization. Purchaser; Provider; or Vendor/Other

2.  What are the greatest opportunities from a contracting perspective?

3.  What are the greatest challenges from a contracting perspective?

Responses to Greatest Opportunity by Year:

• Advancements in analytics capabilities: 18.5% (2012); 19.4% (2011); 7.5% (2010)
• Advancements in EHRs & transactions: 7.4% (2012); 10.2% (2011); 16.7% (2010)
• Consumer engagement initiatives: 7.4% (2012); 12.0% (2011); 10.8% (2010)
• Emergence of value based/newer payment models: 29.6% (2012); 29.6% (2011); 26.7% (2010)
• Formation of ACOs: 8.6% (2012); 7.4% (2011); 16.7% (2010)
• Increased covered population due to health reform: 18.5% (2012); 13.9% (2011); 17.5% (2010)
• Potential growth in medical homes: 7.4% (2012); 3.7% (2011); 0.8% (2010)
• Other: 2.5% (2012); 3.7% (2011); 3.3% (2010)

Responses to Greatest Challenge by Year:

• Consumer engagement Initiatives: 8.6% (2012); 6.5% (2011); 9.9% (2010)
• Continued market consolidation: 13.6% (2012); 7.4% (2011); 14.1% (2010)
• Cost pressures due to economic downturn: 21.0% (2012); 33.3% (2011); 28.1% (2010)
• ICD-10 transition: 7.4% (2012); 0.9% (2011); 6.6% (2010)
• Increased complexities of benefit design: 12.3% (2012); 11.1% (2011); 8.3% (2010)
• Increased mix of government vs. commercial covered populations: 14.8% (2012); 16.7% (2011); 14.9% (2010)
• Issues related to health reform provisions: 17.3% (2012); 15.7% (2011); 14.1% (2010)
• Other: 4.9% (2012); 8.3% (2011): 4.1% (2010)

For the third year in a row, a plurality of respondents thought that the emergence of value based and other applicable newer payment models was the greatest opportunity from a contracting perspective, with 29.6% of respondents answering this way. In 2011, the same percent of respondents agreed that this was the greatest opportunity which was three percentage points greater than in 2010.

The next most prevalent answers to what was the greatest opportunity were advancements in analytics capabilities and increased covered population due to health reform. For both of these options, 18.5% of respondents answered this way. These responses had been the second and third most prevalent answers in 2011 as well, however, advancements in analytics capabilities was chosen by 19.4% of respondents and increased covered populations due to health reform was chosen by 13.9%.

The remaining answers to what were the greatest opportunities from a contracting perspective (not including other which was chosen by 2.5% of respondents) were chosen by a similar percent of respondents, all of which were within one percentage point of 8%.

When broken down by respondent category there were some variations. While those who categorized their organizations as purchaser or vendors/others followed the overall trend of designating the emergence of value based and other applicable newer payment models as the greatest opportunity from a contracting perspective, providers were split on what the greatest opportunity was between the emergence of value based payment models and increased covered population due to health reform both of which garnered 25% of respondents in that category.

The biggest variation among respondent category was on the response to whether advancements in analytics capabilities was the greatest opportunity from a contracting perspective. Overall, 18% of respondents thought that this was the greatest opportunity. Purchasers were the most likely to answer this way with 30.4% of those respondents choosing this as the greatest opportunity. Respondents categorizing themselves as vendor/other were the least likely to respond this way with only 7.1% believing it as the greatest opportunity.

Just as with the greatest opportunity, the respondent’s choice for the greatest challenge carried over a three year trend with a plurality of respondents signaling that cost pressures due to economic downturn was the greatest challenge with 21% of respondents answering this way. This was a much smaller plurality than in previous years and was only 3.7 percentage points greater than the next most common answer for what the greatest challenge was; issues related to new health reform provisions.

The rest of the options for what the greatest challenges are from a contracting perspective are (excluding other) all fell within ten percentage points of each other. 8.6% of respondents chose consumer engagement Initiatives, 13.6% chose continued market consolidation, 7.4% chose ICD-10 transition, 12.3% chose increased complexities of benefit design, and 14.8% chose increased mix of government program vs. commercial covered populations as the greatest challenge.

Looking at responses year over year, most answers ticked slightly up in 2012 compared with 2011 and 2010 with two exceptions; cost pressures due to economic downturn, which dropped 12.3 percentage points from 2011, and increased mix of government program vs. commercial covered populations, which dropped almost 2 percentage points from 2011.