Financing Whole-Person Health

BACKGROUND: Current payment models in the U.S. healthcare system are neither sustainable nor desirable. Expenses outpace revenue for most healthcare providers, while patients experience rising prices contrasted with inadequate health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: There is not a single, small adjustment that can remedy these issues; systemic problems require systemic solutions. One such solution involves whole-person care, an approach that emphasizes using diverse healthcare resources to align care with a patient’s values and goals as well as treat a patient’s physical, behavioral, emotional, and social risk factors. METHODS: In order to be most effective, whole-person care must be paired with a viable payment system that prioritizes positive outcomes and efficiency. The predominant fee-for-service payment system is not conducive to whole-person strategies. RESULTS: This paper examines the role of capitated payments, risk adjustments, social and structural determinants of health, and expense trends in an interdependent approach to healthcare industry system reform. CONCLUSION: The Whole Health paradigm is optimized to improve both the financial performance of healthcare providers and the healthcare results of patients. Phased implementation is both feasible and sustainable.