Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Proposes Set Price For Treating Heart Attacks To Curb Spending, Boost Quality
The Wall Street Journal: Medicare Proposes Fixed Payments For Treating Heart Attacks
Medicare wants to pay hospitals fixed amounts for treating heart attacks, following a move to offer set reimbursements for hip and knee replacements rather than letting providers bill for every service provided to older Americans, the Obama administration said Monday. The proposal represents the most significant extension of the Obama administration’s efforts to curb costs and improve quality of care funded by Medicare. (Radnofsky and Evans, 7/25)
The Hill: Obama Administration Pushes To Change Medicare Payments For Heart Attacks
The announcement comes as the administration, in its final months in office, seeks to further shift Medicare payments towards rewarding quality health outcomes and away from the old system of simply paying for the number of services provided. ... The idea is to incentivize saving money and providing quality care. (Sullivan, 7/25)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Mandatory Cardiac Bundled-Payment Pilot
“We think it's important to keep pushing forward on delivery system reform,” Dr. Patrick Conway, acting principal deputy administrator and chief medical officer for the CMS, told reporters in a call. “We think this is a huge opportunity.” (Whitman, 7/25)
Politico Pro: With New Cardiac Program, CMS Doubles Down On Bundled Payments
While critics say accountable care organizations and other new reform models introduced by Obamacare aren't especially effective at controlling costs, there's evidence that bundled payments tamp down spending. ... Medicare's bundled payment programs specifically make hospitals accountable for patients' care during the hospital stay and after discharge; hospitals that hit quality and cost targets are eligible for additional savings, which can be shared with participating physicians. (Diamond, 7/25)
CNBC: New Medicare Pay Models Proposed For Cardiac Care To Boost Quality, Save Money
Federal health regulators Monday proposed to test a new way to pay hospitals that treat Medicare beneficiaries for heart attacks and bypass surgery, as well as hip fractures, with an eye toward controlling costs and improving patient outcomes. Under the model proposed for a five-year demonstration project to begin next summer, which would be mandatory, hospitals would be paid on a "bundled" basis for treating such patients. (Mangan, 7/25)
Morning Consult: HHS Proposes Bundled Payments For Cardiac Care
Bundled payments aim to improve care quality and coordination by reimbursing providers for an entire episode of care, rather than reimbursing for each separate step. A bundled payment model for hip and knee replacements was launched earlier this year, and the rule proposed Monday would extend that model to include surgical treatments for hip and femur fractures beyond hip replacements. (McIntire, 7/25)
