Is COVID-19 the End of Fee-for-Service Payment?

This commentary assesses how the COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate a shift away from fee-for-service payments models in health care.

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has created a seemingly paradoxical scenario for the finances of health care providers. While states were rushing to build field hospitals to prepare for a surge of COVID-19 patients, traditional revenue streams for providers completely dried up: elective procedures were suspended and social distancing protocols limited the number of patients in office settings.