Health care spending continues to grow – no surprise there – according to an annual federal government report. While hospital payments are still responsible for the largest portion of the nation’s health spending, provisions of the Affordable Care Act have already started to slow spending growth on hospital services. That’s not yet the case for physician and clinical services, for which Medicare spending grew by 8 percent in 2011 (the most recent data).
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At the same time, the administration is touting their progress in approving a total of 250 Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, half of which are led by physicians.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates it can save up to $940 million over four years by using this model.
Still, the need for a permanent solution to physician Medicare payments was the source of exasperation at the most recent meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Commissioners said they’re tired of the year-to-year patches and that replacing the flawed SGR system just makes sense. For more details on that, check out this week’s Policy & Practice podcast.
-- Frances Correa (FMCReporting)