The Obama administration is setting aggressive goals for reforming how Medicare reimburses health-care providers.
The Obama administration wants doctors to be paid based on whether their treatments work, not how many services they provide. "The goal is for half of all Medicare payments to be handled this way by 2018. Monday's announcement marks the administration's biggest effort yet to shape how doctors are compensated across the health-care system. As the country's largest payer of health-care services, Medicare influences medical care generally, meaning the changes being initiated by the administration will likely be felt in doctor's offices and hospitals across the country." Jason Millman in The Washington Post.
Paying doctors for keeping patients healthy is common sense. "But for most of Medicare's 50-year history, that wasn't how the bills got paid. Hospitals and doctors earned money when they performed a service. It's called, literally, 'fee-for-service,' and it has nothing to do with whether the patient got better, whether some other kind of care might have been more effective, or -- even worse -- whether the service was necessary at all. Instead of laws and regulations, the Obama administration is relying on a few programs under Obamacare that are growing and many more, outside of the government, that probably would have happened regardless. Change in the industry has been fueled by growing public disgust with the nation's $3 trillion annual health-care bill and the fee-for-service system that drives it." Alex Wayne for Bloomberg.
This change has been long in coming. "Back when the White House was drafting Obamacare, some advisers pushed for a target just like this to be included in the legislation. It would commit the federal government to moving quickly, they argued. ... Today's announcement is, in some ways, the big change that some health care experts pleaded for in 2010. It's the first time the federal government has set a specific goal for moving towards a health care system that rewards value." Sarah Kliff at Vox.
ORSZAG: Now the administration has to make it happen. "To be sure, more needs to be done: The targets have to be hit. And that will require action. Today’s announcement provided no details about the specific steps ahead. Will Medicare move more toward bundled payments for specific episodes of care, or toward accountable-care organizations, through which hospitals and other providers receive one payment for all the care a patient needs during a year? Such details are crucial. The first step in any worthy project, though, is to set clear goals."Bloomberg View.
The Obama administration is setting aggressive goals for reforming how Medicare reimburses health-care providers.
The Obama administration wants doctors to be paid based on whether their treatments work, not how many services they provide. "The goal is for half of all Medicare payments to be handled this way by 2018. Monday's announcement marks the administration's biggest effort yet to shape how doctors are compensated across the health-care system. As the country's largest payer of health-care services, Medicare influences medical care generally, meaning the changes being initiated by the administration will likely be felt in doctor's offices and hospitals across the country." Jason Millman in The Washington Post.
Paying doctors for keeping patients healthy is common sense. "But for most of Medicare's 50-year history, that wasn't how the bills got paid. Hospitals and doctors earned money when they performed a service. It's called, literally, 'fee-for-service,' and it has nothing to do with whether the patient got better, whether some other kind of care might have been more effective, or -- even worse -- whether the service was necessary at all. Instead of laws and regulations, the Obama administration is relying on a few programs under Obamacare that are growing and many more, outside of the government, that probably would have happened regardless. Change in the industry has been fueled by growing public disgust with the nation's $3 trillion annual health-care bill and the fee-for-service system that drives it." Alex Wayne for Bloomberg.
This change has been long in coming. "Back when the White House was drafting Obamacare, some advisers pushed for a target just like this to be included in the legislation. It would commit the federal government to moving quickly, they argued. ... Today's announcement is, in some ways, the big change that some health care experts pleaded for in 2010. It's the first time the federal government has set a specific goal for moving towards a health care system that rewards value." Sarah Kliff at Vox.
ORSZAG: Now the administration has to make it happen. "To be sure, more needs to be done: The targets have to be hit. And that will require action. Today’s announcement provided no details about the specific steps ahead. Will Medicare move more toward bundled payments for specific episodes of care, or toward accountable-care organizations, through which hospitals and other providers receive one payment for all the care a patient needs during a year? Such details are crucial. The first step in any worthy project, though, is to set clear goals."Bloomberg View.
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