UnitedHealth Report Examines How Doctors Get Paid

Minneapolis Star Tribune: UnitedHealth Looks At Doctors' Pay For Medical Savings
A new report from UnitedHealth Group Inc. takes aim at the way U.S. doctors get paid, saying the nation could save up to $1 trillion over the next decade in health care costs if it were possible to "unleash the potential of payment reform initiatives." The report, which comes out Wednesday, analyzes the savings as well as likely pitfalls to adopting a number of different methods to move away from the current "fee-for-service" approach, which pays doctors based on the number of services they provide. The federal health care law is forcing some of the changes, while Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth and the bulk of the major hospital systems and health plans in Minnesota have taken the initiative on their own (Crosby, 12/5).