Medicaid is testing numerous new alternative payment and delivery system models to enhance the coordination of the health care services provided to millions of low-income Americans. This briefing examined the range of Medicaid’s efforts to improve care and promote value, including integrating health with non-clinical and behavioral services, creating managed care organizations, and instituting regional care collaborative organizations. Our panel also addressed Medicaid’s role in managing emerging issues such as the opioid epidemic and the spread of the Zika virus.
Health systems have applied many innovative new strategies for improving quality and reducing costs when it comes to care for high-need, high-cost patients, who typically have multiple chronic conditions. Which of these innovations show promise, and what can we learn from them?
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently closed the public comment period for its proposed rule to implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). This means that Medicare will soon change its payment system for physicians, and there could be broad implications for physicians, health systems, health plans, consumers and others.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) closed on June 27 the public comment period for its proposed rule implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). This means that Medicare will soon change its payment system to emphasize value over volume, and physicians caring for Medicare patients will need to make decisions about how to adapt their practices to the new incentives.
CMS’s Patrick Conway will meet with reporters May 4th to answer questions about recent developments in ACOs, bundled payments and other Medicare payment demonstrations. He’ll also discuss a recently-announced demo, Comprehensive Primary Care Plus, which could bring more flexibility to 20,000 primary care physicians, and may cover services such as telemedicine.
Medicare is testing new ways to pay for medical services, emphasizing value rather than volume, and evidence is beginning to build about successes and challenges. This briefing will examine what we know so far about the basic models, savings, quality, the impact on patients and the prospects for replication.
Reforming the American health care system is a front-burner topic for many policymakers. One main reason is the desire to extend coverage to some if not all of the more than 45 million uninsured in this country. But there is an emerging consensus that reform must also encompass ways to improve quality and value in the system, and one of the prime targets for reform is the way care is delivered. Advocates, analysts, policymakers, consumers and the business and labor communities are all looking for ways to get more value for their health care dollar – delivering better care at lower cost.
A governor met with reporters Friday, February 19 to discuss the latest health care innovations and changes they are pursuing or implementing. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., discussed his experience with the state’s program to move newly eligible Medicaid beneficiaries to qualified health plans, and his intentions for changes moving forward.
In 2014, there were a total of 1,299 mergers and acquisitions in the health care sector – a record number, up from 1,035 the year before. This toolkit explores the driving forces behind this trend; the scope and extent of consolidation among doctors, hospitals and insurers; implications for consumers and other stakeholders; and the roles of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
The integration of technology and health care is on the rise. Although evidence shows that telemedicine has improved access to health care and resulted in lower costs in rural and underserved areas, challenges to expansion include reimbursement policies and acceptable security measures. A new Alliance for Health Reform Toolkit, “Telemedicine: The Promise and Challenges,” addresses the effectiveness of telemedicine as a tool for communication, as well as the expected outcomes and challenges ahead.
This event examined innovative efforts in both the private and public sectors to move toward a health system that is more patient-centered, cost-efficient and delivers better outcomes. It will address efforts underway at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and other federal agencies to spur innovation and prioritize a shift toward higher quality care, as well as the progress made by the private sector in improving quality and reducing costs through innovation.
The briefing explored the trends in health care costs in both the public and private sectors. It explained recent moderate growth rates, along with possible reasons and prospects for the future. This session was especially helpful to congressional staff members new to the issue, but also served as a useful review for anyone working on health care policy.
Every day, health care professionals make complex decisions that directly affect the cost and quality of care. Increasingly, both private and public payers are implementing payment reforms to motivate quality improvement, reward providers for delivering high quality care, and, in some cases, impose penalties for sub-par performance, while bipartisan policy proposals to reform Medicare physician payment would modify existing provider incentive programs.
Some new health plans sold in the insurance marketplaces are offering consumers networks that exclude certain doctors, hospitals and other medical providers. While some claim that these networks hamper provider access and choice, others contend that this approach, if done the right way, helps consumers by creating competition and controlling costs.
Network adequacy experts will meet with reporters Wednesday, August 6 to provide the latest on the subject, including details about model regulations that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners plans to release in November.
Policymakers, providers, and stakeholders have been debating various approaches to reforming our medical liability system to both protect patients who experience adverse medical events and to help practitioners provide the highest quality care possible. One innovative approach may well avoid some of the sharper policy differences on proposals in this area: encouraging the disclosure of unanticipated outcomes to affected patients. This disclosure may include an explanation and apology to the patient and family, as well as an offer of compensation in some cases. Some anecdotal data suggest that such communication-and-resolution programs can result in improved patient safety and decreased malpractice claims. However, questions arise about how well this approach really works, and whether it can be standardized and scaled up in our medical system.
Some new health plans sold in the insurance marketplaces are offering consumers networks that exclude certain doctors, hospitals and other medical providers. While some claim that these networks hamper provider access and choice, others contend that this approach, if done the right way, helps consumers by creating competition and controlling costs.
While the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model has increasingly been embraced by providers and payers as a way to improve health care and lower costs, many questions remain about its effectiveness. Definitions of medical homes vary, but they are generally known as a model that aims to transform primary care through increased coordination and communication among a team of providers. Recent medical home initiatives have encouraged primary care practices to invest in capabilities such as patient registries and electronic health records, and to achieve medical home recognition. Health plans offer to pay more to the practices that achieve recognition.
