As a senior on Medicare I've been waiting for news on the ACO's
that are a significant change initiated within Obamacare.
Here is an article that is beginning to describe the direction of Medicare,
...and where the head goes the tail will follow...
Reuters
Bruce Japsen
4/12/12
New Model Of Health Care Taking Root, Whether Or Not Obamacare Survives
Quote:
No matter what happens to President Obama’s health care law sitting before the Supreme Court,
fee-for-service medicine may still morph into a new model of health care delivery his administration
is pushing that rewards doctors and hospitals for working together to improve quality.
A key part of the Affordable Care Act launched this spring with the first groups of
medical-care providers forming Accountable Care Organizations across the country.
These so-called ACOs began contracting this month with the Medicare program
to be paid for caring for a population of seniors.
If the ACOs can improve quality and reduce the cost of care to the group
of seniors they are caring for, medical providers get to share money saved.
Earlier this week, Jonathan Blum, deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,
said more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries are now served by ACOs
and participation from doctors and hospitals is off to a “phenomenal start.”<snip>
Our nation’s traditional fee-for-service delivery system is not sustainable,” Turkal added.
“At Aurora we are exploring ways to redesign health care delivery,
including an accountable care organization. I am convinced that integrated systems like Aurora
are key to creating a successful approach that improves quality and lowers costs
by coordinating care between the hospital, the physician and outpatient services.”
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