Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare's Effort To Pay For Value Instead Of Volume Is Popular But Questions Remain About Effectiveness
The New York Times: ‘Value’ Of Care Was A Big Goal. How Did It Work Out?
For most of its history, Medicare paid for health care in ways that encouraged more services — whether they improved health or not. Critics called it an emphasis on volume, not value. The Affordable Care Act was intended to change that, and Medicare started a number of programs to do so, including several new ones this year. Nearly a decade after passage of the A.C.A., is value-based payment working? (Frakt, 9/23)
Modern Healthcare: Medicare Quality Measures Need Improvement, Says GAO
CMS quality measures might not indicate the actual care patients receive, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. The GAO studied how the agency decides what quality measures to develop and use. It also evaluated how the CMS monitors its funding for quality measurement activities. The watchdog found that the CMS doesn't have processes to make sure that the indicators actually measure what the agency says it cares about in its strategic objectives. (Brady, 9/20)
