UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. health insurer, is the latest carrier to say it is overhauling its fees for medical providers. UnitedHealth, like other insurers, is targeting the traditional system that pays hospitals and doctors for each service provided, rewarding them for more care but not necessarily better care.

Under the new plan the carrier is rolling out, part of medical providers' compensation could be tied to goals such as avoiding hospital readmissions and ensuring patients get recommended screenings. UnitedHealth has been trying such efforts on a more limited scale, but now the company says it plans to roll out new contracts nationwide that could include financial rewards for care the company considers high-quality and efficient, and in some cases potentially withhold expected increases if certain standards aren't met.

UnitedHealth has more than 5,500 hospitals and 550,000 doctors in its network. Among the measures that might be tied to pay are, for hospitals, rates of readmissions, use of radiology services, mortality rates for certain conditions, and hospital-acquired infection rates, as well as patients' satisfaction.

For doctors, the goals might involve their rates of inpatient admissions and emergency-room use, the total cost of patients' care, and quality measures such as the share of patients getting recommended screenings. UnitedHealth also said it could offer "clinical integration" fees for providers participating in patient-centered medical homes. (WSJ)

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