Aging Services Leaders Express Support, with Reservations, for Value-Based Payment

​Leaders from the American Health Care Association (AHCA)/National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) and LeadingAge have expressed general support for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recently announced plans to transition to quality-based Medicare payments by 2018 but indicated some reservations. For example, Mark Parkinson, president and chief executive officer of AHCA/NCAL, expressed a desire to keep working with the federal government and other stakeholders "to determine the best path forward for achieving the administration's aggressive goals without sacrificing access to high-quality skilled nursing care," according to a January 26, 2015, press release from AHCA.