The shift to value-based and risk-based care promised a more accountable health care system. But one foundational question continues to undermine even the best-designed models: Who is actually responsible for this patient?
It sounds simple. It isn't. And getting it wrong has real consequences for financial performance, care quality, and population health outcomes.
Attribution and Membership: The Hidden Engine of VBC Success
Attribution and membership accuracy aren't back-office functions. They're the infrastructure that every value-based care arrangement runs on. When patients are assigned to the wrong provider (or not assigned at all) risk scores drift, quality measures distort, and care gaps go unowned.
In risk-based models, knowing who is enrolled, where they're receiving care, and when that changes isn't just an administrative concern. It's a strategic one.
A Policy Landscape That's About to Shift
Proposed changes for 2027 — including new approaches to unlinked encounters — stand to reshape how attribution is calculated under existing value-based contracts. For health plans and provider organizations, the time to understand and prepare for these changes is now, not after the rules take effect.
The Stakes Are Highest for Complex Populations
For SNP members and dual-eligible (Medi-Medi) individuals, attribution errors don't just affect performance metrics — they create real gaps in care for the people who need it most. Correctly identifying and managing these high-priority populations is one of the most consequential challenges in value-based care today.
Hear It From the Experts
These questions don't have easy answers, but they do have practitioners actively working through them. At The RISE Value-Based Care Summit, a dedicated panel brings together operational leaders and clinicians to tackle attribution and membership accuracy head-on.
Who Owns the Patient? Fixing Attribution and Membership in Value-Based Care
Monday, June 29, 2026
11:20 AM – 12:10 PM
- Deb Curry (Moderator) — Manager, Risk Adjustment Coding Quality & Operations, Medical Mutual
- Ekaette Joseph Isang — Principal Consultant, Ritebridge
- Anissa Johnson — Manager, Quality Practice Advisors, Wellcare
- Kenneth Persaud, MD — CEO, White-Wilson Medical Center
If attribution and membership accuracy are on your agenda (they should be!) this is the session to be in.