|
The federal government could pay most of the new Medicaid costs in all states through the program's expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), according to a report from healthcare organization Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress is calling on all stakeholders to build on the framework of recent healthcare legislation.
The new policies established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will cost federal agencies at least an estimated $115 billion between 2010-2019 to implement, in the form of explicit authorizations for future appropriations for a variety of grant and other program spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will may not solve the country’s healthcare cost problems, it is “a historic and cost-effective step in the right direction,” according to an editorial published online May 12 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Written by Jeff Byers
Hospitals and health systems leaders need to identify and understand the aspects of the healthcare reform legislation that will not only have immediate, significant impact but also long-term effects on their business, said Ed Giniat, KPMG's U.S. leader for healthcare and pharmaceuticals, during a webinar April 9 hosted by KPMG Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals.
“Proponents of government support for expanding health IT point to tremendous benefits for the U.S. healthcare system. However, although many experts discuss the hoped-for benefits of health IT, formal evaluation and evidence regarding successful implementation is lacking,” according a report from the National Center for Policy Analysis.
The House of Representatives Sunday approved the Senate version of healthcare reform legislation by a vote of 219-212. Later in the evening, the House cleared its package of amendments, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, by a vote of 220-211. The reconciliation bill will now go to the Senate, where Democrats need 51 votes to send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law.
The greatest threat to the U.S. budget stability in the coming decade is the growth of federal spending on healthcare, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which found that spending for Medicare and Medicaid, under current law, is expected to keep growing faster than the economy, reaching 6.6 percent of the gross domestic product by 2020 and potentially reaching 10 percent by 2035.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation have estimated that the direct spending and revenue effects of enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act incorporating the manager’s amendment would yield a net reduction in federal deficits of $132 billion between 2010 and 2019.
The increased computerization of U.S. hospitals hasn't made them cheaper or more efficient, although it may modestly improve the quality of care for heart attacks, Harvard researchers reported in the Nov. 20 edition of the American Journal of Medicine.
|
Healthcare legislation expected to reach the Senate floor this weekend is projected to cost $848 billion and reduce the federal budget deficit by $130 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The most promising option for curbing healthcare spending is changing the way doctors and hospitals are paid to provide care, but implementing such a system must overcome significant obstacles to be successful, according to an analysis by the nonprofit research organization RAND that was published Nov. 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 30 unveiled a revised healthcare reform proposal—H.R. 3692, the Affordable Health Care for America Act—which the Congressional Budget Office estimated carries an $894 billion price tag for the federal government.
The Senate Finance Committee voted today in favor of its version of proposed healthcare reform legislation in a 14-9 vote, including the approval of Olympia Snowe, R.-Me.
The Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Wednesday passed the Affordable Health Choices Act (AHCA), a bill designed to provide affordable healthcare in the United States. The bipartisan bill includes more than 160 Republican amendments accepted during the month-long mark up.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., introduced legislation to establish a private, nonprofit corporation that will research and compare clinical outcomes of alternative therapies and health strategies.
CHICAGO—The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a "once in a lifetime event" for providers to grab economic incentives to adopt health IT, but the government still must define vague terms and settle on certification requirements, according to David W. Roberts, vice president of government relations for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released a report approximating the costs of the current updated economic stimulus package currently being debated in the Senate, as well as estimating its assistance to the U.S. healthcare system.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has improved its quality of
healthcare through management initiatives and use of health IT,
according to an interim report from the Congressional Budget Office
(CBO).
Friday, July 30 2010
|
RSS 
“We’re beginning a revolution the way information is collected, managed, used and purposed for patients in the U.S. healthcare system,” said David Blumenthal, MD, chair of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, in opening remarks at an audioconference training session on meaningful use and EHR certification last week.
In Part 1 of our closer look at the final rules for meaningful use and EHR certification standards, CMIO’s Jeff Byers spoke with David Blumenthal, MD, chair of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. In Part 2, CMIOs weigh in with mixed reviews.
The framework for meaningful use is “something that had to be done and has been started intelligently,” John P. Glaser, PhD, vice president and CIO of Partners HealthCare System told CMIO. However, the challenges of becoming meaningful users and optimizing health information exchange will require unprecedented levels of communication within organizations and among healthcare systems, he said.
The contractual obligations in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on modifications to the HIPAA privacy, security and enforcement rules under the HITECH Act for business associates and downstream entities are game changers, according to Amy S. Leopard, JD, from Walter and Haverfield, during a webinar sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
Standardizing performance measures, with the help of health IT, will make it possible to collect the right data at the right time to support performance measurement, clinical decision support, clinical research and quality improvement, said Janet M. Corrigan, PhD, president and CEO of the National Quality Forum (NQF) during a webinar hosted by the forum on June 17.