Health Care Delivery

The initial push to reach the uninsured masses before final implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is in full force. The Obama administration is planning to campaign as early as this July, eager to register constituents by the October 1 start date.

For the second time in 6 months, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials have revised readmission penalties for hospitals. In doing so, approximately 1200 hospitals are now subject to lesser penalties.

The Affordable Care Act has left many healthcare professionals pondering the future of healthcare delivery. This all-encompassing discussion has many layers; however, at the American College of Cardiology 62nd Annual Scientific Session and Expo, a panel of experts discussed some of the specific variables-such as the need for better data and a more prominent role for nurses-as they relate to healthcare delivery in this transitory time.

Starting in September 2014, members of the public will be able to access a searchable database containing information about gifts and payments that pharmaceutical companies have given to physicians.

The implementation of health insurance exchanges (HIX) is one that contains a plethora of variables. While more than 30 states have opted to allow the federal government to take control of their HIX, other states, such as Mississippi and Utah, continue to seek ways to implement the exchange without ceding total control.

According to reports this week from the Associated Press, governors who reject health insurance for the poor under new healthcare reform laws will have exposed a peculiar loophole in the system-some US citizens would be forced to go without Medicaid coverage, while their immigrant counterparts would remain covered.

The future US primary care system will be one characterized by diversity in both delivery structures and personnel. This diversity will benefit from a collaborative approach in which stakeholders realize high degrees of interdependency.

Despite rejections of multiples states' pleas for partial expansion of Medicaid, President Obama has given the green light for health insurance marketplaces in 6 states.

According to a report by InformationWeek earlier this month, the federal government has exceeded the $2 billion mark in spending to help establish infrastructure for health insurance exchanges.

Peter Cunningham, PhD, Senior Fellow and Director of Quantitative Research, Center for Studying Health System Change, says that the expansion of people gaining coverage will be a big challenge for primary care delivery systems.

The Medicare program as we know it is at a crossroad. But, just how important is it to voters? The Kaiser Family Foundation shed some light on that question Thursday when it released a report stating that 73% of respondents polled in the days around the announcement of Paul Ryan as the running mate of presumptive Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney described Medicare as "very important" or "extremely important" to their votes.

A recent survey by the Mercer consulting firm has confirmed what many already suspected: employers are anticipating an increase in the cost of health benefits due to the Affordable Care Act.

On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), setting into motion changes that will transform the way in which healthcare services are reimbursed and delivered. The result of this decision has sparked widespread debate on whether the PPACA will accomplish what it was intended to.