Healthcare payment
How healthcare payment is managed is one of key policies that countries have to drive healthcare system. Payment for healthcare is managed in various ways. The main categories of payment systems are salary, capitation, bundled payment, global budget and fee-for-service. Most countries have mixed systems of physician payment.
Classification
Capitation
is a payment arrangement for health care service providers. It pays a set amount for each enrolled person assigned to them, per period of time, whether or not that person seeks care. The amount of remuneration is based on the average expected health care use of that patient, with payment for patients generally varying by age and health status.Capitation in the United States
Primary capitation is a relation between care organization and primary care physician, where the physician is paid by the organization for those who have chosen the physician as their provider. Secondary capitation is a relation arranged by care organization between a physician and a secondary or specialist provider, i.e. or ancillary facility or an X-ray facility. Global capitation is a relationship based on a provider who provides services and is reimbursed per-member per-month for the entire network population.Fee-for-service
is a payment model in which services are unbundled and paid for individually. In health care, it gives an incentive for physicians to give more treatments because payment is depending on the quantity, rather than quality of care. However evidence of the effectiveness of FFS in improving health care quality is mixed, without conclusive proof that these programs either succeed or fail.It is the dominant healthcare payment method in the United States. In the Japanese health care system, FFS is mixed with a nationwide price setting mechanism to control costs.