News reports out today suggest that Democrats on the Super Committee are proposing $400 billion in cuts to Medicare—$200 billion in cuts to benefits, and $200 billion in cuts to providers. It’s unclear what this means, and whether it’s true, but one thing is certain: there is a better way.
Today the Center for American Progress is releasing a package of reforms to modernize the payment and delivery system. These reforms are a win-win: they will reduce costs and at the same time improve the quality of care and the efficiency of the health care system. ...Think Progress
There's no question in the minds of most users of our health care system that it is an administrative mess. I'm talking here about my own experience with the largest private health insurance company and, over several years, the accounts of doctors in my area. In contrast, Medicare (albeit a somewhat tangled web) is an administrative dream. Only those whose heads are somewhere other than on their necks claim the opposite.
But Medicare needs help. The Center for American Progress suggests:
– Immediately expand a Medicare program that bundles payments together for certain procedures nationwide. Then, completely replace fee-for-service with bundled payments for all procedures and primary care by 2016.
– Immediately implement competitive bidding for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies nationwide, and expand the program to include laboratory tests.
– Require electronic eligibility, claims processing, and payment, as well as centralized physician credentialing.
– Do not pay extra for technologies that are more expensive but no more effective than other available technologies. ...CAP
