What is Kenji?
A next-generation payment model
Kenji is a Physician and Advanced Practice Provider-led organization, and the catalyst for a new type of healthcare entity: a Physician Mutual. This structure allows Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) to take full financial control and accountability for patient outcomes, enabling them to launch and operate a next-generation payment model focused on delivering cost-effective, high-quality care.
In essence, Kenji is not the payment model itself; it's the operating model, leadership team, and organizational structure — the Management Services Organization (MSO) that empowers Physicians/APPs to create and manage the Mutual.
Why now?
The time is now because the healthcare industry is undergoing a significant shift away from traditional fee-for-service models towards a more value-based system. This transformation is driven by a focus on improving care access and quality, lowering costs, and enhancing patient satisfaction, all while ensuring fair and equitable outcomes for everyone, especially marginalized populations. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have already shown that a coordinated, value-based approach can lead to better results and a lower total cost of care. Kenji builds on this progress by putting Physicians and APPs in a position to lead the next evolution of this model.
What makes Kenji different?
Kenji's core difference is that it’s a Physician/APP-centric, ownership-based model, which fundamentally contrasts with the traditional, corporate-run Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). It puts Physicians and APPs in the driver's seat, both clinically and financially.
Most ACOs are built by and for large organizations like hospitals, health plans, or private equity firms. In these models, physicians and advanced practitioners are often treated as employees or a cost to be minimized, which can lead to a disconnect between patient care and financial incentives. This structure can ultimately disenfranchise clinicians and patients, leading to avoidable costs and suboptimal health outcomes.
Kenji flips this model on its head. It is intentionally designed as a Physician Mutual, meaning it is owned and operated by the very clinicians who provide the care. This structure ensures that clinicians are not just employees—they are the owners and stakeholders. This is the critical distinction.
While other models might pay physicians and advanced practice providers a small bonus for meeting certain metrics, the significant surplus savings generated from improved care typically go to the corporate entities that run them. Kenji, however, ensures that all of the surplus savings are returned to the physicians and advanced practitioners. This isn't a bonus for good behavior; it's the direct economic benefit of delivering high-quality, cost-effective care.
By leveraging the collective expertise of its clinician members, Kenji increases the value of care while better controlling costs and risks. In return, clinicians receive an equitable share of the substantial financial benefits generated by new CMS payment models. This creates a powerful alignment of incentives: when patients receive better care, Physicians/APPs are directly and substantially rewarded.
Key features of Kenji:
Physician/APP-Owned and Led: Kenji is a Physician Mutual, meaning it is owned and governed by physicians and advanced practice providers. This is a fundamental departure from traditional ACOs, which are typically owned and controlled by hospital systems or corporate entities. Clinicians are not just participants; they are the sole owners and primary stakeholders.
Full Financial Control & Accountability: Physicians and APPs assume full financial responsibility for patient outcomes and the total cost of care. This direct financial exposure is a powerful incentive to deliver high-quality, cost-effective care and eliminates the conflicts of interest found in models where the surplus savings are captured by non-clinician owners.
Direct Economic Benefit: Unlike other models where surplus savings are directed to hospitals, payers, or investors, all economic benefits generated by Kenji's next-generation payment model are returned to the physicians and advanced practice providers. This creates a powerful and equitable alignment of incentives, rewarding physicians and advanced practice providers directly for improving care and lowering costs.
Commitment to Quality and Equity: Kenji’s mission is to enhance the quality of care and patient satisfaction through a focus on preventive care and collaborative, coordinated treatment. This commitment extends to ensuring fair access and equitable outcomes for all populations, particularly those who have been historically underserved.
Operational Independence: While Physicians/APPs own the organization, Kenji's Management Service Organization (MSO) provides the robust administrative, technological, and legal infrastructure. This allows physicians and advanced practice providers to focus on patient care without the administrative burden, while the MSO handles complex functions like data analytics, claims management, and regulatory compliance.