Look closer at claim global payments are improving care

A Health Affairs report out last week concludes that a relatively new global budget contract in use by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has "improved care." Hold on. If this is the threshold for success, then the move to global budgets is going to disappoint a lot of regular, non-medical people, like me. Are patients in a global budget healthier, happier and more productive than those who receive are through traditional fee for service?