Articles

Payment-Withhold Integrated Funding Pilots: How to Use Quality Gates and Retained Funds to Protect Outcomes Without Destabilizing Providers
Payment-withhold integrated funding pilots retain a portion of funding until quality, access, and outcome standards are met. This article explains how withhold models operate in practice, how providers manage financial and operational risk, and what funders require to ensure the model drives improvement without creating instability or defensive behavior. Read more...
Gainshare Integrated Funding Pilots: How to Distribute Savings Fairly Across Partners Without Undermining Collaboration or Quality
Gainshare integrated funding pilots distribute financial savings achieved through improved coordination and efficiency. This article explains how gainshare models operate in practice, how savings are calculated and shared, and what governance is required to prevent conflict, inequity, and quality risk. Read more...
Capitated Integrated Funding Pilots: How to Manage Population-Based Budgets Without Under-Service, Risk Dumping, or Financial Instability
Capitated integrated funding pilots allocate a fixed per-person budget to deliver coordinated care across multiple services. This article explains how these models operate in practice, how providers manage financial and clinical risk, and what funders require to ensure quality, access, and accountability are maintained. Read more...
Risk-Adjusted Integrated Funding Pilots: How to Fund Complex Populations Fairly Without Penalizing Providers for Taking the Hardest Cases
Risk-adjusted integrated funding pilots use case-mix, complexity, and need-based weighting to make cross-sector funding fairer across different populations. This article explains how these pilots operate in practice, how risk adjustment supports equitable delivery, and what funders require to prevent under-service, cost dumping, and misleading performance comparisons. Read more...
Outcomes-Based Integrated Funding Pilots: How to Pay for Shared Results Without Creating Perverse Incentives or Reporting Burden
Outcomes-based integrated funding pilots tie payment to agreed cross-system results rather than isolated activity. This article explains how these pilots operate in practice, how providers protect service quality while managing evidence and attribution, and what funders require to avoid distorted incentives, under-delivery, and weak accountability. Read more...
Time-Limited Integrated Funding Pilots With Exit Plans: How to Mainstream What Works Without Service Collapse
Time-limited pilots often end just as delivery matures—unless exit and mainstreaming are designed from day one. This article explains how to run integrated pilots with transition triggers, financial tapering, and governance so effective models can scale into routine funding without destabilizing staff, providers, or clients. Read more...
Milestone-Based Integrated Funding Pilots: Paying for Verified Progress Without Distorting Frontline Delivery
Milestone-based integrated pilots release funds when predefined progress is verified, not when activity is delivered. This article explains how to design milestone gates, verification workflows, and governance so providers can focus on stabilization and outcomes without gaming metrics or creating unsafe access barriers. Read more...
Lead Commissioner Integrated Funding Pilots: How Single-Point Accountability Simplifies Multi-Agency Delivery
Lead commissioner pilots place one body in charge of pooled coordination while partners retain defined roles. This article explains how lead commissioner models operate operationally, how authority and escalation are governed, and what oversight bodies expect to see to maintain fairness, transparency, and control. Read more...
Braided Funding Integrated Pilots: How to Coordinate Multiple Funding Streams Without Losing Accountability
Braided funding pilots coordinate multiple funding streams while preserving individual payer accountability. This article explains how braided models operate day to day, how roles and spending boundaries are governed, and what funders expect to see to ensure funds remain compliant, auditable, and outcomes-focused. Read more...
Blended Rate Integrated Funding Pilots: How to Combine Per-Member Payments and Activity Funding Without Losing Clinical Control
Blended-rate pilots mix per-member payments with activity-based funding to support prevention while keeping capacity responsive. This article explains operational workflows for eligibility, authorizations, and variance control, plus what funders require to evidence medical necessity, service integrity, and reliable outcomes across partners. Read more...
Shared Savings Integrated Funding Pilots: How to Align Incentives Without Encouraging Cost Shifting or Risk Avoidance
Shared savings pilots can unlock cross-system investment in prevention, but only if incentives are governed tightly. This article explains how shared savings models operate day to day, how quality gates and attribution prevent gaming, and what funders expect to see in governance, documentation, and measurable system impact. Read more...
Multi-Payer Integrated Funding Pilots: How Medicaid, Public Health, and Local Funds Can Be Aligned Without Losing Control
Multi-payer integrated funding pilots seek to align Medicaid, public health, and local budgets around shared outcomes. This article explains how these pilots operate operationally, how control and compliance are preserved, and what governance funders require to prevent cost shifting, dilution of responsibility, and audit failure. Read more...