4.19.2023 Board Book

sure development. Likewise, focused efforts are needed to improve clinicians’ reporting capabilities, such as capability within electronic health records to diagnose and docu ment obesity routinely. x Second, collaboration is needed for well-designed and controlled pilot projects or other experimentation that will test the viability of new payment models for obesity treatment and support. Highly integrated health care systems with strong capabilities to define and track pa tient outcomes, and an openness to experimentation might be ideal candidates; the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), for example. Larger, self-insured employers might also be well positioned to experiment (or support insurer experiments), given the flexi bility they enjoy in designing employee health benefits, employee assistance programs, and other benefits. Employers with relatively stable workforces are also in an ideal po sition to evaluate the multi-year impacts of obesity treatment and support, and to reap the benefits if value-based obesity treatment succeeds in reducing employee health risks, improving their health outcomes, and reducing obesity-related health utilization.

13

Envisioning Value-based Provider Payment for Obesity Treatment and Support