Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Offers $840M In Grants To Doctors, Hospitals
The Associated Press: US Announces $840M To Improve Medical Care
The Obama administration is announcing an $840 million grant program to help doctors and hospitals improve the quality of care delivered to patients. Patrick Conway, Medicare’s chief medical officer, said Thursday the goal is to identify ways of delivering care that improves results for patients, and then rapidly foster the spread of those ideas throughout the system. The administration also hopes at least some approaches will save money. (10/23)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: Primary Care Doctors To Patients: Don’t Forget About Us
With an estimated 25 million new people becoming insured over the next few years, a coalition of family physicians has a message for the country: Don't forget about us. The timing is right for the group, which on Thursday announced a five-year, $20 million campaign aimed at promoting the importance of primary care. The flood of newly insured patients presents a big opportunity for primary care doctors, when you consider this: just one-third of uninsured adults said they have a regular doctor, about half the rate of the insured population, according to a 2013 Kaiser Family Foundation survey. (Millman, 10/23)
Politico Pro: Burwell Outlines New Health Care Quality Initiative
HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell asked family physicians Thursday for their help with lowering costs and improving quality while offering $840 million in grants to help them figure out how to do that. “We want to partner with those who are working to improve the coordination of care — both inside and outside their offices,” said Burwell, explaining the new initiative. “And we intend to build networks of clinicians who learn best practices from each other and build new networks.” (Wheaton, 10/23)
Meanwhile, in regard to biomedical research funding -
The Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Push For Increased Funding For Biomedical Research
A bipartisan pair of senators is putting together a proposal to significantly increase federal funding for biomedical research, an issue that has taken on greater urgency in light of the Ebola outbreak. Aides to Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, met with industry representatives this week to discuss their plan to boost funding for biomedical research by $1 billion annually over 10 years, according to people familiar with the discussion. (Peterson and Armour, 10/23)
