Archive for March 31st, 2011
BREAKING NEWS: HHS Issues Proposed ACO Rule
The federal health reform law calls for the development of accountable care organizations, which use new care delivery and payment models to emphasize cooperation among various doctors and specialists. The goal here is to provide better care at reduced costs, in part by dodging duplicative or erroneous testing.
The reform law requires federal health programs to begin contracting with ACOs starting in January 2012. Earlier this week, HHS called for nationwide implementation of ACOs following the release of its proposed regulation this week.
Today, the agency issued the rule.
Amassing Against More Mass
A new study detects a growing worldwide stigma against fat people, even in countries where being overweight is thought to be acceptable.
AHL’s Top Story: Lawmakers Edge Closer to Possible Agreement on Spending Cuts in FY 2011 CR Measure; Ideological Divisions Remain
The White House and congressional leaders yesterday signaled they are closer to a possible agreement on a continuing resolution budget bill that would fund the federal government through September and avert a government shutdown, the Washington Post reports. However, there remains a divide over whether to include a number of policy riders in the spending package, including two that would defund the federal health reform law and Planned Parenthood (Kane, Washington Post, 3/30). Following meetings with House Republican and Senate Democratic leaders on Wednesday, Vice President Biden confirmed that the White House and lawmakers “are on the same page” about $33 billion in proposed spending cuts in the next budget measure, CQ Today reports (Young/Friel, CQ Today, 3/30). An official familiar with the discussions said the figure appears to split the difference between a Senate Democratic proposal for $30 billion in cuts, which includes $10 billion that Congress approved in the two most recent stopgap CRs, and $36 billion in cuts that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested during a recent meeting with the White House (Berman [1], The Hill, 3/30).
What a Shutdown Tells the Market That It Already Should Know
Ezra Klein considers how a government shutdown — which could happen next week because of disagreements over health care spending, among other things — could affect the market.
Strange Ideas for Saving Medicaid Dollars
Christopher Weaver reports in Kaiser Health News/NPR’s “Shots” that various states are considering strange proposals to reduce Medicaid spending, such as ending payments for routine circumcisions. Okay, so that one didn’t pass muster, but the idea that it was even being considered should say something.
