New Resources Help SLPs Navigate Value-Based Care

April 13, 2026

ASHA, in collaboration with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), has released two new resources outlining important knowledge and key considerations for providers and payers exploring value-based payment arrangements for therapy services.

• Value-Based Care for Therapy: A Provider's Guide [PDF]
• Value-Based Care for Therapy: A Payer's Guide [PDF]

Developed jointly across the therapy disciplines, these resources recognize the complementary roles of speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy in improving patient outcomes within value-based care models.

Why This Matters for SLPs

Health care is increasingly shifting toward value-based care models that prioritize patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness rather than the volume of services delivered.

As these models expand, SLPs may increasingly need to:

• Demonstrate functional outcomes, such as improvements in communication, cognition, and swallowing;
• Participate in coordinated, team-based care; and
• Clearly communicate their role in improving patient outcomes and reducing overall health care costs.

Value-based care models often assess performance across care teams, making it important to understand how speech-language pathology services contribute alongside other therapy disciplines.

How These Resources Can Help

A key challenge in value-based care is aligning expectations between providers and payers. SLPs may face limited access to data or unclear expectations, while payers may not fully recognize the impact of therapy services. These resources help to address those gaps by promoting shared understanding, consistent metrics, and more effective collaboration.

The Provider Role: Demonstrating Value

The Provider's Guide outlines several strategies to succeed in value-based care environments:

• Track functional outcomes using standardized, patient-centered measures;
• Participate in interdisciplinary care teams to improve coordination;
• Understand payment models such as shared savings and capitation; and
• Leverage data and technology to document impact and meet reporting requirements.

These steps help providers clearly articulate their value and position themselves as essential contributors to value-based arrangements.

The Payer Role: Enabling Integration

The Payer's Guide complements the Provider's Guide by outlining how health plans can better incorporate therapy services into value-based care frameworks:

• Design benefits that support appropriate intervention, rather than limit access;
• Incorporate therapy-specific quality metrics that reflect functional outcomes;
• Facilitate data sharing and care coordination across providers; and
• Align incentives to reward prevention and long-term improvement, not just short-term utilization control.

The guide underscores that restrictive coverage policies may inadvertently increase downstream costs, while proactive investment in therapy services can yield measurable savings and improved patient outcomes.

Looking Ahead

The shift to value-based care is accelerating across both public and private sectors. These resources emphasize the need for stronger collaboration between providers and payers. Providers must be prepared to demonstrate outcomes and engage in new payment models, while payers must create pathways that fully integrate therapy services into care delivery.

By working together, providers and payers can help ensure that speech-language pathology services are not only included, but also recognized as essential in the future of value-based health care. SLPs can use these resources to support discussion with employers, health systems, and payers about the role and value of their services.

Questions?

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