The Affordable Care Act is so big and complex that everybody is learning about it little by little, even years after it was enacted. One of the most important, and least understood, details is the way the ACA shifts financial risk in the provider/customer relationship.

The Provider now carries more risk than at any other point in the Insurance industry's history, a reform meant to trigger lower prices over the coming decade.

The industry term is PSR (or Provider-Sponsored Risk). Healthcare providers will now be reimbursed by insurers for effective care, not for simply performing many tasks for a set fee.

"More care is not a recipe for better care," says the Dartmouth Institute of Medicine.

The attached article is a great resource, and goes into great detail about the ACA's specific mechanisms of action for PSR, many of which have not yet gone into effect and/or have been delayed by Congress.

Read full article at H&HN.