A new report from the New England Journal of Medicine-Catalysts about trends in payer-provider integration suggests that the industry is warming up to single-payer — with 61 percent of hospital leaders saying single-payer would boost the industry’s efforts to lower costs and provide better care.

For its report, researchers surveyed 607 members of the Catalysts Insights Council, made up of healthcare executives, clinical leaders and clinicians, to understand trends within the payer-provider relationship.

Here are five survey findings:

Seventy-seven percent of respondents said they do not consider payers and providers aligned in the push to value-based care. Respondents said that payers have the most potential to influence payer-provider collaboration. Half of respondents named payers most influential, followed by providers with 48 percent, government with 39 percent, employers with 36 percent and patients with 21 percent. When asked about the top barriers to implement value-based contracts, 32 percent of respondents selected a lack of incentive’ 19 percent of respondents selected the number of negotiations involved; and 19 percent cited a lack of time or other resources. Regulatory payment changes, like those from CMS, are the most influential driver to better collaboration between payers and providers, 72 percent of respondents said. Sixty-one percent of respondents said the ability to provide value-based care would get better under single-payer healthcare. Twenty-two percent of respondents said it would get worse under single-payer healthcare.

Overall, the survey suggests that key healthcare stakeholders, including hospitals and insurers, are not aligned on important goals and are not working together to see value-based care across the entire continuum of care. However, there are opportunities to collaborate and achieve better results.

Read the full report here.

BHM watches healthcare trends and understands the importance of improving and changing with the industry. Payer-Provider relations and integration of care and services is a primary driver of high healthcare spending. Click HERE to learn more about how BHM helps your organization address opportunities.