News Clips
The Hill: (3/22) - Independent physician practices play a vital and often overlooked role in the larger health system, and can sometimes be the only touchpoint patients have within the wider health care safety net. Given the potential Medicare cuts that could result from the passage of the American Rescue Plan and the upcoming expiration of the moratorium on Medicare sequester cuts, this article calls on policymakers to consider the physical and emotional strain placed on physicians before further aggravating their financial burden by cutting Medicare payments. The author urges the passage of H.R. 1868 to allow physicians to focus on fighting COVID-19 without financial uncertainty tied to reduced Medicare reimbursements.
Fierce Healthcare: (3/22) - The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra calling for him to set a national goal to have the majority of Medicare beneficiaries in an ACO within four years. NAACOS also recommended strengthening incentives to attract new ACOs and keep existing ones around, making the Next Generation ACO model permanent, increasing ACO shared savings rates and fixing major benchmarking and risk adjustment issues within MSSP, and more.
AJMC: (3/21) - In this episode of the MJH Life Sciences’ Medical World News, Kevin Coloton, founder and CEO of Curation Health, said organizations utilizing a value-based care reimbursement model may be better positioned to delineate high-risk patients and manage their care amid the pandemic. This seems particularly true for long-term symptoms that may arise due to COVID.
Center for Health Care Strategies: (3/18) - In many state Medicaid programs, primary care is the keystone that supports other state health care priorities, including value-based care and health equity. Promoting advanced primary care within Medicaid can help states work toward broader health care goals. CHCS has assisted 10 states through the Advancing Primary Care Innovation in Medicaid Managed Care collaborative in designing Medicaid managed care programs that hold MCOs accountable for progress toward concrete primary care goals. This article outlines principles to build managed care programs centered on strengthening primary care and promoting health equity.
Patient Engagement HIT: (3/18) - According to new insight from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute, people with longstanding patient-provider relationships and a usual source of care tend to be more likely to get the flu shot. Researchers suggest this could help shape COVID-19 vaccine outreach efforts, as clinicians are trusted sources of information for such patients.
Medical Economics: (3/17) - The American College of Physicians (ACP) released a policy paper to address the ethical and professional implications of health care business practices and physician employment. The paper underscores the importance of the patient-physician relationship, and that ethics and professionalism must be emphasized in the shift to value-based care and explicitly addressed in business practices and employment relationships when faced with external motivators.
AJMC: (3/17) - During a session of the V-BID Summit 2021 hosted by the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan, a panel of experts provided consumer insights into value-based insurance design (VBID). The panelists discussed how VBID is an important tool to address health care affordability and that the pandemic may have changed consumer behaviors in a way VBID could help address.
News Wise: (3/17) - Over the last decade, the health care system has experienced an increase in consolidation - hospitals and health systems bought up over 8,000 private medical practices and 14,000 physicians left private practice to join hospitals from mid-2016 to early 2018 alone. A recent Perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine raises considerations around the impact such practices have on health equity, reducing competition, and increasing prices for health care services. The authors propose transparency across the industry so regulators can take action as needed.
AJMC: (3/17) - This blog discusses how a value-based care team approach can help to treat patients’ medical problems adequately and address challenges faced in their everyday lives. The author addressed how in-depth conversations with patients is the norm in her primary care practice, which takes time and resources that require the support of a care team who provides the full spectrum of services and can help reduce the physician’s normal administrative burdens.
|