Which statement best contrasts fee-for-service with managed care payment incentives?

• A. Fee-for-service pays per service, encouraging volume; managed care emphasizes outcomes, cost containment, and risk-adjusted payments to align incentives.
• B. Fee-for-service emphasizes value and outcomes, while managed care focuses on service volume.
• C. Fee-for-service sets fixed payments per discharge based on DRGs.
• D. Managed care rewards providers for increasing the number of procedures performed.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how payment incentives steer provider behavior in different systems. In fee-for-service, reimbursement is paid for each service, so increasing the number of services tends to raise income, encouraging higher volume. Managed care, on the other hand, uses mechanisms like capitation, risk-adjusted payments, and performance-based incentives to reward cost containment and better outcomes, tying payments to value rather than volume. Risk adjustment helps account for patient complexity so providers aren’t rewarded for taking on only easy cases, while emphasis on outcomes and costs aims to improve quality and efficiency.

That’s why the best statement says fee-for-service pays per service, encouraging volume, and managed care emphasizes outcomes, cost containment, and risk-adjusted payments to align incentives. The other options mix up the focus (value and outcomes vs volume), describe DRG-based fixed payments typical of prospective payment systems rather than fee-for-service, or suggest managed care rewards more procedures, which contradict the goal of cost containment and efficient care.