Wall Street Journal Quotes Priority Health President

(December 15, 2004)
In her column, "The Informed Patient," Wall Street Journal writer Laura Landro discusses pay-for-performance programs and bonus plans that reward doctors for following "best practices."

She cites Priority Health as at the front of this trend in her final paragraph:

Starting next year, Priority Health of Grand Rapids, Mich., will expand its own pay-for-performance program to about 1,800 specialists used by its 440,000 members, who can already help select a primary-care physician using an online scorecard that rates doctors by one to four red "apples" depending on how well they rate on basic measures of care. Chief Executive Kimberly Horn says Priority also plans to offer some additional data to help consumers choose specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons based on how much they charge. If four different orthopedic surgeons all have the same quality ratings, she says, "I should be able to compare what it is going to cost me if I have my knee done at one versus the other," says Ms. Horn. "As there is more cost-sharing with consumers, we're going to have to have more public reporting so they can shop on value."

To see the "apples" referred to in the article, go to Find a Doctor/Provider and enter any Primary Care Physician (PCP) name. Most members of the Priority Health PCP network have provided information on their care measures. As Ms. Horn mentions, Priority Health is planning to add quality rating information for other providers in the future.

Find the article, "Performance pay expands to medical specialists," on page D3 of the December 15, 2004, Wall Street Journal.