The U.S. is home to one of the largest populations of obese adults representing one-third of the nation. With such a large population comes a large price tag with $1,429 or more in annual individual medical costs. Due to the growing concern and priority, Carrum Health, the first comprehensive bundled payment platform, has expanded their bundled payment offerings to bariatric surgeries.
Carrum Health connects self-insured employers to top-quality regional healthcare providers through standard bundled payment arrangements. Their goal with this latest offering is to help top-quality provider systems pursue value-based care initiatives.
One of their first partners in this program is Scripps Health, a private nonprofit integrated health system in San Diego. They’ve demonstrated a positive track record in bariatric surgeries with more than 17,000 surgeries performed at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego. The health system is accredited by Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
Carrum Health streamlines the bariatric bundled payment process by facilitating the evaluation for surgical appropriateness with an expert surgeon at the Center of Excellence. If the patient moves forward with surgery, Carrum Health provides tools and a patient advocate to:
– Manage logistics
– Schedule appointments
– Gather medical records
– Coordinate travel
“As healthcare continues to march towards value-based care, bundled payments serve as an effective stepping stone,” said Michael Bark, Assistant Vice President of Payer Relations at Scripps Health. “With Carrum Health’s expansion into bariatric surgeries, we’re able to continue to serve our patient community with the best quality of care at a low cost. The bundled payment offering allows us to properly manage a patient’s journey from start to finish which addresses any issues that could have a detrimental impact on both health and overall costs associated with the procedure.”