The health care system is increasingly moving away from volume-driven fee-for-service payments and toward value-based payment (VBP) arrangements to improve quality, enhance both the patient and providers’ experience of care, and reduce costs. VBP models have primarily been implemented in physical health care, but have been slower to emerge in oral health care due to the novelty of these arrangements and the unique characteristics of the oral health environment. Yet, stakeholders see opportunities in implementing VBP in oral health care.

To learn more about the state of VBP in oral health care, the Center for Health Care Strategies conducted interviews with oral health stakeholders across the country — representing oral health providers, Medicaid agencies, professional and consumer organizations, and health plans. This resulting brief, produced with support from the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement, summarizes VBP models, examines challenges and opportunities for VBP in the oral health environment, and provides considerations for the expansion of VBP focused on oral health care. It also highlights insights from the interviews — presenting opportunities for advancing VBP in oral health care, as well as unique considerations that may need to be addressed for VBP to spread in the oral health field.