United States of Care Submits Statement to US Senate Budget Committee on Lowering Health Care Costs & Improving Health Outcomes

On March 7, United States of Care (USofCare) submitted a statement for the record to the United States Senate Committee on the Budget. Our statement responds to the Committee’s March 6 hearing entitled “How Primary Care Improves Health Care Efficiency.”

In our statement, USofCare commends the Committee’s focus on lowering health care costs for people by investing in primary care. Unfortunately, the high cost of care, recent trends towards health care consolidation, and a reliance on fee-for-service payment models has poorly equipped our health care system to deliver high quality and comprehensive primary care for people. 

For people to access quality primary care that meets their needs, we must invest in patient-first care that focuses on delivering value instead of the volume of services provided. USofCare’s research shows that by a 4:1 margin, people favor a “patient-first,” value-based approach that incentivizes and pays for results over quantity and compensates providers for improving overall health, delivering superior care, and coordinating care.

The need for payment reforms and investments in primary care is critical to mitigate consolidation and the erosion of the primary care workforce, as well as bring about fair prices for patients. USofCare is grateful to submit a statement for the record and looks forward to further engagement with the Committee on these issues.