Policy and Legislation
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), Heritage Provider Network (HPN), and The Advisory Board Company have launched the Care Transformation Prize Series, a national contest to address the most daunting data problems US health care organizations face as they implement new delivery system and payment reforms.
The Bipartisan Policy Center on Thursday released what it hopes will be "a viable political plan to reign in the spiraling costs" of healthcare while also improving quality.
A study conducted by Harvard researchers on the insurance purchased through the state insurance exchange, the Commonwealth Connector, showed that some families experienced high levels of financial burden and higher-than-expected costs.
Bundled care is touted frequently these days as one of the best ways in healthcare to save money, right reimbursement wrongs and heighten the quality of care. While the model is still being debated within the industry, a recent report indicates that consumers like it.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed allowing hospitals in the state to be owned and operated by businesses. Though most states already have business-owned hospitals, this will be a major change for New York state, which has one of the tightest-regulated healthcare industries in the nation.
Independence Blue Cross and regional provider Abington Health announced in late February they would leverage Lumeris' consulting and technology services to enhance their two-year-old accountable care initiative.
While Republican members of Congress have announced plans to once again use budget measures to attempt to defund key parts of health reform - including nearly $1 billion the Office of Management and Budget requested for CMS, which presumably would be used for the establishment and operation of state health insurance exchanges - their Republican counterparts who occupy state governors' mansions have begun to sing a different tune.
While Connecticut's 2014-2015 budget has yet to be finalized, hospitals and healthcare systems in the state are claiming that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposed cuts of more than $500 million in hospital funding over the next two years would be devastating.
By a majority decision of 76%, a nine year renewal of a local property tax ensuring access to healthcare for the uninsured or underinsured was passed.
A report issued this week by the Government Accountability Office reports that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services overpaid the Medicare Advantage program run by private health insurers by between $3.2 billion and $5.1 billion for the years 2010-2012.