Real-world results show why value-based payment works for family physicians and their patients.
Value-based payment (VBP) flips the script on traditional fee-for-service (FFS) models. Instead of paying for every test or visit, this approach rewards physicians for helping patients get healthier and stay well. It’s designed to support the kind of care family physicians already believe in—preventive, whole-person and team-based care.
Successful physicians are praising VBP models, highlighting nine reasons they believe this approach is effective and why making the shift was worthwhile.
Family physicians are finding value-based care isn’t just a newer system—it’s a better one. By focusing on preventive care, patient outreach and chronic condition management, they’re seeing measurable improvements in patient outcomes and reductions in avoidable emergency visits and readmissions.
“Even a few months into it, I was like, ‘This really is better care. And this really could benefit us.’ We got data back that one patient had been to the ER more than 40 times in the year before and it was always on a weekend. My care manager started calling him every Friday morning to ask, ‘Do you need to be seen? Do you need any refills?’ And like that, the following year, he went to the ER like twice.”
Jennifer Bacani McKenney, MD
Rural practice
“I have had a number of success stories come from learning about a patient with more depth and being able to manage their care or help their caregiver or offer some advice on what to do when such-and-such happens. That has led to better care and lower costs. I’m able to intervene earlier upstream.”
Employed physician
Urban academic practice
“We’ve seen tremendous decrease in just percentages of readmissions. I think if you look at the hospital system in general, it might be in the 21-25% readmissions and we’ve been able to drive down to about 11%, sometimes lower. That has been remarkable change that’s kept patients out of the hospital and saved tremendous amounts of money on the other end.”
Employed physician
Group practice
2. It’s a better way to work.
Many physicians say the shift has helped them reconnect with the purpose behind their work. Value-based care lets them spend time solving problems, coaching patients and leading their care teams, which contributes to more meaningful, satisfying work.
“You become more efficient in terms of what you’re doing. It’s not so much an add-on as opposed to adopting effective ways of taking care of your patients.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
“It feels more empowering for us to be more proactive with our patients. It’s the right kind of work that we want to be doing.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
VBP structures often include care management, regular check-ins and coordinated follow up. This model builds trust and makes patients feel supported, and they notice the difference.
“Patients rave about the care management approach. When I discuss it with a patient, I say to them, ‘You are a VIP and I am very worried about you and I need to stay closer to you than I am currently.’”
Independent physician
Urban practice
“Our patients love our care management. My care manager calls them, like, once a week and just checks in. She becomes such an important part of their care.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
“Taking time to solve problems for a patient increases trust. Patients say, ‘I know my doctor cares enough about me to make a change...’ That is why I think those of us in family medicine are so well received in our communities, because our patients trust that we’re going to go the extra mile.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
4. It makes primary care the cornerstone.
In a value-based model, primary care takes the lead. That shift brings visibility, respect and influence to family medicine, empowering the specialty to shape better outcomes and a more sustainable system.
“In a value-based system, primary care is at the top. It has not been that way. If you’re hesitant to join the effort to make primary care the cornerstone, this is the way to be noticed. This is the time to take the risk on behalf of the specialty. I’m pretty optimistic about it.”
Michael Hanak, MD
Urban academic practice
“I think in order to fight all the good fights of the runaway health care system—quality of life, burnout, workforce issues—this is the answer to all of those things.”
Independent physician
Urban practice
5. You can start where you are. It is not one-size-fits-all.
You don’t have to overhaul your practice overnight. Start small. Choose one partner, one payer or one patient population to begin learning what works. Many physicians say building from Medicare to commercial payers helped streamline their workflows and expand impact.
“Engage. I always tell people, ‘Understand what value-based care looks like, and pick one thing that you can do different.’ Pick a hospital that your patients go to and partner with them and start learning how to do transitional care management services and start doing them. It can be anything.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
“The way we thought of trying value-based care with a private payer was, ‘Why not? We’re already providing this better care for our Medicare patients, why wouldn’t we do similar things for commercially insured patients as well?’ Bringing value-based care to more patients, building on the work we’d already done, made things easier because we could just streamline our workflow.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
6. It brings people and partners together for patients.
Value-based care encourages collaboration across your care team, your practice network and your local and national communities. Many physicians credit their success to peer support and shared purpose.
“When you see that you have a host of colleagues, that you have an academy in your state and nationally and they’re all working for you and your patient, that gives you a sense of, ‘OK, I can do this.’”
Independent physician
Rural practice
“My partners and I are fiercely independent. We chose a physician-led ACO that only represents independent practices. With them, I am not thinking about contracts. I just take care of patients.”
Independent physician
Urban practice
7. It’s rewarding for the whole team.
From aligning roles to reducing burnout, value-based models give teams more clarity and purpose. Practices also report better staff retention and new ways to recognize team contributions, especially through shared savings.
“It allows all of us within the practice to work at our comfort level, our license level and our training level. It provides the flexibility to match responsibilities with staff skill sets. I’m not the best person to ask a patient to take their medicine. But my RN coordinator, I don't know...she says something different, they take their medicine.”
Karen Smith, MD
Rural practice
“Our workforce retention is remarkable because of value-based care. Fee-for-service was not what we are relying on in order to bonus our staff or really give raises...we actually bonus them when we make shared savings in the fall and at the end of the year for performance, so they know that this is not just a generic bonus, this is their value-based care bonus.”
Independent physician
Urban practice
8. It drives revenue that can stabilize and grow your practice.
Shared savings, new billing codes and better care coordination can generate revenue that keeps your practice strong, even in uncertain periods. Several practices say value-based models helped them stay open during challenging times.
“The amount we get could pay for one of our physicians now. Over the course of the pandemic, when we weren’t seeing as many people, it helped us to be able to stay open and be able to pay ourselves normal wages. It really has been significant enough to grow our practice. It was scary at first, but it has paid off.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
“When COVID hit...we had no money...one of our payers said, ‘Look, we will advance the shared savings check to you.’ That shared savings check that they advanced...saved our practice. But had we not been part of a shared savings program the year before, there would have been no money to come in.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
9. It ensures you’re accurately paid and properly funded.
With value-based care, physicians are finally being paid for the care they were already delivering, such as follow-up calls, transitional care management and chronic condition support. The result is more sustainable practices and better-resourced patient care.
“For every $1 we invested into two care managers, we got back $4.10 and that did not include shared savings. Care management ramped up our annual wellness visits. It helped us ramp up our transitional care management, do things that we were trained to do. The best thing that chronic care management gave us was this wonderful, soul-satisfying ability to help take care of your patients outside the practice walls.”
Independent physician
Rural practice
“From the very first month that we saw the codes being submitted and accepted and paid, we realized that this was care we had been delivering without reimbursement prior to this.”
Independent physician
Urban practice
