HHS/CMS ‘Fact Sheets’ Per PR Issued Today on HealthCare.gov

EDITOR’S NOTE! Re: The press release ‘fact sheet’ for the ACO and Medicare Shared Savings Programs provisions as codified in today’s FINAL RULE, is published in it’s entirety below: People with Medicare will be able to benefit from a new program designed to encourage primary care doctors, specialists, hospitals, and other care providers to coordinate …

They’re Here!!

CMS releases final rule today on ACO and Medicare Shared Services Program! For complete text of final rule submitted to the Office of the Feferal Registrer today, click here. More details to follow including a TweetChat via hashtag #ACOchat. There will be a conference call and Press conference today with Dr. Don Berwick et al …

Physician Hospital Co-Management Arrangements

By Marshall R. Burack, Akerman Senterfitt In recent years, a number of regulatory and economic factors have driven hospitals and physicians to find ways to work together in a more coordinated manner in order to improve the quality and reduce the cost of patient care. Factors causing hospitals and physicians to work together include, among other …

ACO reimbursement, bundled payments, clinical quality measures and public profiles will be based on ICD-10 data

By Lynne Thomas Gordon Healthcare leaders are juggling multiple pressures, including the consistent delivery of high-quality patient care, evaluation and development of accountable care organizations, the careful management of sensitive patient data, achieving meaningful-use criteria, making the most efficient use of the newest technology and stretching revenue to maintain end-to-end coverage of their bottom lines. …

Massmed Releases 10th Annual Physician Workforce Study

Physician Shortages Found in 8 Specialties, Continued Primary Care Shortages, and Physician Concerns About Global Payments and Accountable Care Organizations: Waltham, Mass. — September 28, 2011 — The Massachusetts Medical Society today released its 2011 Physician Workforce Study showing critical and severe physician shortages in eight specialties, a sixth consecutive year of shortages of primary …

Bundled Payment? Not So Fast!

From Boston.com’s ‘White Coat Notes’: By Liz Kowalczyk A new survey from the Massachusetts Medical Society reveals interesting divisions among doctors over plans to hold down health care spending — and perhaps some words of warning for lawmakers. More than half — 58 percent — of the 1,100 doctors who responded to the society’s survey …

ACO Accelerated Development Learning Session

Sponsored by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation & Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services On November 17-18, 2011, CMS is hosting its final “accelerated development learning session” (ADLS) to educate executives about ways to organize and administer ‘Accountable Care Organizations. The session will be held at CMS headquarters in Baltimore, MD. For more …

Follow The Money?

By Jeffrey L. Cohen Conversation regarding ACOs and even healthcare reform itself is misplaced. The well established facts are (1) more people will receive health care, and (2) the cost of healthcare will come down. It does not matter whether the stimulus is a new law or just marketplace reaction. The fact is that a …

CMS Conference Call Digest & Reaction

By Gregg Masters, MPH Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 CMS held an informative conference call, on the new “Bundled Payments for Care Improvement” Initiative, click here for summary and replay instructions. For those who missed, this is a ‘Tweet Digest’ of some of the salient observations, thoughts and re-tweets. RT @2healthguru: CMS Bundled Payment Conference Call Now! | http://t.co/3wcTj8h #aco #ACOchat AaronBazemoreAugust …

‘New’ CMS Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative: 6 Preliminary Take-aways

By Vince Kuraitis This afternoon (August 23rd, 2011)  CMS announced the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative (BPCII). For details, start reading here. Here are six quick first impressions: 1. It’s very creative and innovative. CMS has demonstrated out-of-the-box thinking and leaves a lot of room for applicants to propose their own approaches. Expect to …