The senior living industry is experiencing a transformative shift.
As resident needs grow more complex and expectations continue to rise, senior living operators are rethinking how care is delivered and measured. Today, more communities are embracing value-based care (VBC)—a holistic approach that provides incentives for delivering efficient, collaborative, and high-quality care to residents.
This blog explores key components of value-based care in senior living and how your community can begin the journey toward this proactive and measurable care model.
What Is Value-Based Care in Senior Living?
Value-based care is a healthcare delivery model in which providers are reimbursed based on health outcomes rather than the number of services provided.
The goal is simple but powerful: deliver better care at lower costs by focusing on care quality, prevention, and long-term wellness. This shift from reactive to proactive care means bringing providers together to collaborate more closely on resident care plans and health outcomes. When done well, value-based care can improve resident health, reduce hospitalizations, and enhance overall senior living experiences.
Why Value-Based Care Matters
Senior living operators have an important role in residents’ healthcare journeys.
As Alan Fairbanks, President of the Value Based Care Alliance explains:
“Value-based care is not just another buzzword or a fleeting trend. It’s about getting back to our roots—providing exceptional care that truly benefits our residents, ensuring they lead happier, healthier lives… Senior living operators like us are in a unique position. We touch every aspect of our residents’ lives, from their environment and social interactions to their daily behaviors. This puts us at the forefront of healthcare, allowing us to influence outcomes more significantly than anyone else.”
By embracing this model, leading communities are prioritizing proactive healthcare while fostering a more connected environment for everyone.
5 Pillars of Value-Based Care in Senior Living
There are five core pillars of value-based care in senior living. Each pillar creates the foundation for personalized, and accountable care delivery.
Let’s explore each of these pillars:
1. Preventive Care
By encouraging regular check-ups, wellness screenings, and early intervention, providers can detect health concerns before they escalate. This approach leads to earlier diagnoses, more effective treatments, and ultimately, better outcomes for residents.
2. Personalized Care
Value-based care emphasizes the importance of tailoring health services to each individual. This means considering residents’ unique needs, preferences, health conditions, and lifestyle factors when developing care plans. Personalized care increases resident engagement and satisfaction by supporting the individual—not just their medical condition.
3. Outcome-Focused
Traditional care models often focus on the volume of services delivered. In contrast, value-based care rewards providers for achieving positive health outcomes. The goal is not to do more—it’s to do what works best. Providers are incentivized to use the most effective strategies and reduce unnecessary treatments to improve resident satisfaction and quality of life.
4. Coordination of Care
A key element of value-based care is seamless collaboration among providers. By strengthening partnerships across care teams, communities can ensure smoother transitions, reduce duplicate services, and minimize errors. Coordinated care means ensuring residents receive support, at the right time, from the right people.
5. Technology and Data-Driven Practices
Data and technology play a central role in monitoring progress, supporting transparency, and improving care quality. Through real-time health tracking and outcome measurement, providers gain a deeper understanding of resident needs and can make more informed decisions based on that information.
How to Get Started with Value-Based Care
Adopting a value-based care model may seem like a major shift—but communities begin their journey with small, strategic steps. The key is to focus on building the right processes in order to deliver more resident-focused services.
Here are some tips to get started:
- Build awareness – Educate staff on what value-based care means, why it matters, and how their daily roles contribute to resident outcomes. Team members who understand the importance can help drive change across your entire community.
- Establish partnerships – Building relationships with local healthcare providers, payors, and accountable care organizations (ACOs) can help strengthen care coordination, improve data sharing, and align incentives for resident health.
- Invest in technology and tools – Even simple visitor management or health tracking systems can provide valuable insights into resident health trends, social engagement, and care effectiveness to help guide interventions and impact.
- Commit to continuous learning – Value-based care is not a one-time initiative—it’s a mindset and model that evolves over time. By staying focused on resident outcomes, your community can take meaningful steps toward delivering higher-quality care.
How to Tap into Value-Based Care Reimbursement
As value-based care (VBC) becomes a growing priority in healthcare, senior living communities have a unique opportunity to be reimbursed for delivering higher-quality, preventative care that keeps residents out of hospitals.
To simplify the process, operators should reach out to a trusted intermediary—like Serviam—to help guide conversations, evaluate opportunities, and connect with Medicare providers or ACOs that are actively participating in value-based models. Serviam is committed to helping senior living operators access the right tools, systems, and revenue streams to embrace and succeed under this care delivery model.
Next Steps for Operators:
- Assess Your Medicare Population: Understand how many residents are on Medicare Advantage or other qualifying plans—and with which providers.
- Identify Consolidation Opportunities: Aim to align the majority of your Medicare residents with a single provider to gain traction for reimbursement conversations.
- Partner with an Expert: Work with organizations like Serviam that can help facilitate VBC participation.
- Track Care Outcomes: Focus on proactive care efforts that reduce ER visits, and hospital readmissions—then document those improvements to demonstrate your impact.
Value-Based Care for a Stronger Future
Value-based care is a strategic shift towards resident-focused care delivery.
By moving from a reactive to a proactive care model, senior living communities will be better positioned to lead with fewer hospitalizations, better health outcomes, and higher quality of life for every resident. Embracing this model today means building a stronger, more sustainable future for tomorrow.
