Dr. Robert Walker told PTAC that generative AI can read charts, synthesize literature, and support longitudinal measurement — potentially making better risk adjustment and outcomes measurement possible — but warned AI could raise costs under fee-for-service and urged pilots and safety safeguards.

Dr. Reena Ducasia of Oracle told PTAC that value-based payment requires visibility, named ownership of next actions, and systems that close care loops; she recommended linking measures to workflow and funding operating capacity, not just enrollment in value models.

Dr. Hang Mai Fam told PTAC that value‑based payment should measure what matters to patients, expand participation beyond the current voluntary mix, and that CMS should experiment with simplifying CPT code families and alternative fee schedules to reduce pricing arbitrage.

PTAC's draft white paper consolidates a decade of public input and lays out 22 recommendations across nine topic areas — including total cost of care, payment approaches, measurement, rural participation, technology, and patient safety — that PTAC plans to finalize and send to the Secretary of HHS.

The Department of Health Care Services described a birthing care pathway roadmap, policy updates to sustain community health workers and doulas as Medi‑Cal providers, and a $17 million federal pilot to test a transporting maternal health payment model in five Central Valley counties.

A CommonSpirit hospital representative asked whether the department is pursuing value‑based payment strategies or Medicaid waivers to protect behavioral‑health and primary‑care services amid budget constraints; HCPF staff said behavioral‑health specialists were not on the call, offered to share Medicaid sustainability documents and asked attendees 

By outsourcing the cost containment function, value-based payment programs fail to confront the core drivers of spending: high prices, technology diffusion, and administrative costs.