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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).
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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).
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Patients checking into New York-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital can create an account that enables them to view their health data and have access to it wherever and whenever they need it.
The progress toward defining meaningful use has been impressive, but the timeline may be too compressed for many, said Steven Stack, MD, member of the board of trustees at the American Medical Association (AMA), last week, during the eHealth Initiative's second Webinar on meaningful use. “Also, to digitize 20 percent of the U.S. economy in a three- to five-year period, there’s not enough workforce to do that,” Stack said.
E-prescribing could help improve coordination of patient care, although barriers including cost and lack of standards need to be worked out, said speakers at a Webinar hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit eHealth Initiative.
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) proposed rules for incentive payments to eligible healthcare professionals and hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs that adopt and meaningfully use certified EHR technology is the result of unprecedented collaboration among leaders from all areas of healthcare. However, the 556-page document, released Dec. 30, 2009, is raising questions and concerns in the healthcare community--some of which were raised by two CIOs in a CMIO interview.
