CMS unveils new initiatives to kickstart ACO formation:
While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to finalize the proposed rule on creating accountable care organizations (ACOs)--and listens to concerns from providers about their feasibility--it introduced three new initiatives Tuesday to move the accountable care process further along.
CMS said its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will be accepting applications for the first initiative--the Pioneer ACO Model--which will be available this summer for about 30 experienced organizations that are now working or considering ways to coordinate care for their patients. CMS expects this model to save Medicare about $430 million over three years.
The Pioneer initiative will require groups to work together at a 'more aggressive pace' to see change--in terms of improving health outcomes and savings, said Joe McCannon, senior advisor to the CMS administrator, at a Brookings Institution presentation Tuesday on health systems improvement.
The first two years of the program will have higher levels of shared savings and higher levels or risk compared to what is outlined in the current proposed rule, he noted.
The second proposal, the Advance Payment ACO Initiative, has been introduced in response to organizations that have been worried about the capital needed to create an ACO, McCannon said. The idea is that an 'advance' could be made to an organization for start-up capital investment and infrastructure costs.
'The money would be recouped through the savings that would come going forward,' he said. More details need to be spelled out on how this will work. The Innovation Center is seeking public comments on this approach through June 17.
The final initiative addresses creation of four accelerated development learning sessions. The sessions will be held (beginning June 20) for healthcare providers on what steps they can take to improve care delivery and to create ways to achieve better-coordinated care.
For more details:
- read the CMS announcement
- see the CMS fact sheet on the new options
- view The Washington Post article
Related Articles:
Navigating the pros and cons of ACOs in Medicare Shared Savings Programs
Affordable Care Act to Improve Quality of Care for People with Medicare
Accountable Care Organizations: Draft rules and guidance released by CMS, IRS, OIG, FTC
Onkar Harry is a seasoned healthcare professional and consultant with operations and information systems experience within Health care organizations, including providers, payors, TPAs, vendors and other health care related organizations. Here you can find links to selected topics of interest within the healthcare and IT industry.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Inpatient, outpatient healthcare costs have doubled in nine years
Inpatient, outpatient healthcare costs have doubled in nine years:
- Here's the study (.pdf)
Medical inflation is at its most moderate levels in years, but the cost of hospital inpatient and outpatient care continues to outpace the costs of other sector components, according to a new report by actuarial firm Milliman.
The Milliman Medical Index reports that the cost of providing healthcare this year for a four-member household is $19,393, up 6.7 percent, or $1,319, from 2010, but still nearly double the cost in 2002 of $9,235.
'We don't see anything on the near-term horizon that's going to bend that downward,' Milliman principal Lorraine Mayne, one of the study's co-authors, told the Associated Press.
The biggest cost drivers in the past year have been medical care rendered by outpatient clinics and acute care hospitals. Outpatient care costs rose 10 percent, while hospital costs rose 8.6 percent. However, inpatient care contributes 31 percent of the total costs of healthcare delivery, 'the largest single contributor to the 2011 increase in the MMI,' the report said.
Miami, New York City and Chicago saw the largest cost increases over the past year, ranging between 13 percent and 20 percent higher than the nationwide average, while cities such as Phoenix, Seattle and Atlanta experienced increases significantly below average.
For more:
- read the Associated Press article
- here's the study (.pdf)
Related Articles:
Insurers flock to offer online care component
Care costs, rather than market power, influence hospital prices, AHA finds
Hospital cost-cutting time
- Here's the study (.pdf)
Medical inflation is at its most moderate levels in years, but the cost of hospital inpatient and outpatient care continues to outpace the costs of other sector components, according to a new report by actuarial firm Milliman.
The Milliman Medical Index reports that the cost of providing healthcare this year for a four-member household is $19,393, up 6.7 percent, or $1,319, from 2010, but still nearly double the cost in 2002 of $9,235.
'We don't see anything on the near-term horizon that's going to bend that downward,' Milliman principal Lorraine Mayne, one of the study's co-authors, told the Associated Press.
The biggest cost drivers in the past year have been medical care rendered by outpatient clinics and acute care hospitals. Outpatient care costs rose 10 percent, while hospital costs rose 8.6 percent. However, inpatient care contributes 31 percent of the total costs of healthcare delivery, 'the largest single contributor to the 2011 increase in the MMI,' the report said.
Miami, New York City and Chicago saw the largest cost increases over the past year, ranging between 13 percent and 20 percent higher than the nationwide average, while cities such as Phoenix, Seattle and Atlanta experienced increases significantly below average.
For more:
- read the Associated Press article
- here's the study (.pdf)
Related Articles:
Insurers flock to offer online care component
Care costs, rather than market power, influence hospital prices, AHA finds
Hospital cost-cutting time
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