Which of the following payment arrangements is streamlined by the use of chargemasters?

Chargemasters are comprehensive lists of prices for services provided by healthcare organizations, primarily used in the fee-for-service payment arrangement. Fee-for-service allows providers to bill for each individual service performed. Since chargemasters outline the charges for these services, they simplify the billing process, making it easier for healthcare organizations to charge patients and insurers accurately and transparently for each service rendered.

In contrast, other payment arrangements like capitation and bundled payment focus on different pricing models. Capitation involves a fixed payment per patient regardless of the number of services provided, making a chargemaster less relevant since it does not rely on itemized billing. Similarly, bundled payments consolidate multiple services into a single payment for an episode of care, which again diminishes the significance of chargemasters as there are no individual charges for each service to outline.

Value-based care aims to improve health outcomes and reduce costs rather than simply charge for services rendered, so while chargemasters can still play a role in billing, they are not the central focus of this payment model. Thus, the relationship between chargemasters and fee-for-service arrangements highlights their role in clarifying and streamlining the billing process in this traditional payment model.