Bundled payment is the reimbursement of health care providers (such as hospitals and physicians) "on the basis of expected costs for clinically-defined episodes of care."[1][2][3][4][5] It has been described as "a middle ground" between fee-for-service reimbursement (in which providers are paid for each service rendered to a patient) and capitation (in which providers are paid a "lump sum" per patient regardless of how many services the patient receives), given that risk is shared between payer and provider.[6] Bundled payments have been proposed in the health care reform debate in the United States as a strategy for reducing health care costs, especially during the Obama administration (2009–2016).[7] Commercial payers have shown interest in bundled payments in order to reduce costs.[8] In 2012, it was estimated that approximately one-third of the United States healthcare reimbursement used bundled methodology.[9]
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