Health Care Cost

Payment reform in the United States has been going on for years, and a panel at the AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference analyzed how much progress has been made to move away from fee-for-service, and what the evidence on alternative payment models has found.

Despite disagreement over the Affordable Care Act, Democrats and Republicans agree on broader issues like the need to move away from fee-for-service and the need to a better job for those with chronic conditions.

During an interview with Vox that was simulcast by the White House, President Barack Obama reviews where his signature law is working, where it isn't, and why Americans should demand to see what a replacement would look like.

As we approach the January 20 inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States, we come to the end of an all-too-brief era of unparalleled government transparency and leadership accessibility: Acting Administrator of CMS Andy Slavitt will be stepping down from his post.

In a podcast that goes live today, The American Journal of Managed Care® paired Mandi Bishop, MA, the CEO of Aloha Health, with Andy Slavitt, MBA, who is finishing his tenure as acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Bishop asked Slavitt about the lessons of payment reform, the impact of MACRA, and what the new administration should expect.

As Andy Slavitt, MBA, acting administrator of CMS, comes to the end of his tenure, he spoke with Mandi Bishop, MA, CEO of Aloha Health, about the task of making health policy translatable and the legacy of payment reform he leaves behind.

January 1, 2017, marks the beginning of a new way of being paid in Medicare. And while the final rule of MACRA was released in October, and many providers and practices are still trying to parse out what it will mean to them.

CMS is moving full-steam ahead with the transition to value-based care. On Tuesday, the agency announced 3 new bundled payment models in cardiac care, an expansion on the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, and the highly anticipated new track in the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

Bruce Gould, MD, president and medical director, Northwest Georgia Oncology Center, and president of the Community Oncology Alliance, presented an overview of how cancer care has improved over the years and what the current challenges are.

Value-based care in oncology will be a great thing for patients because it will bring the caregivers together, said Roy Beveridge, MD, chief medical officer of Humana and the keynote speaker at Patient-Centered Oncology Care.

The goal of medicine is function and health. Clinicians who marry technical skills with humanities can see their patients and themselves in the larger context of family, society, history, politics, and economics.

As the healthcare industry moves toward value-based care and accountable care organizations and other new financial models gain greater importance, Aledade is looking to guide physicians to success.

With value-based reimbursement now far from its infancy, the chief medical officer for Humana will forecast what’s ahead in payment reform-and how oncology connects with what is happening in primary care, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry. Roy A. Beveridge, MD, will open Patient-Centered Oncology Care, which will meet November 17-18, 2016, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Read on for a breakdown of what to expect from the near-final MACRA rule announced by CMS on October 14, 2016.