Provide names of other journalists involved.
None.
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
25-May-12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The story explores the potential barriers that may be preventing providers from partnering with Medicare to form accountable care organizations. ACOs are an integral part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and its effort to lower Medicare costs and improve care quality, and are an important topic for BNA’s audience of providers and industry counsel. The story finds that despite government incentives, it may be in the best interests of providers to form commercial ACOs; there is too much uncertainty surrounding Medicare ACOs, the participation requirements are too stringent, and startup costs are too prohibitive for some.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Statistics publicly available from the CMS website.
Explain types of human sources used.
The article relied heavily on interviews with Medicare attorneys (from Drinker Biddle and Manatt), a trade group representing physicians (Medical Group Management Association), and an official at a provider group facing the same decision about ACOs as BNA’s professional audience (the Marshfield Clinic).
Results:
The article gave readers an idea of the pros and cons of partnering with CMS to form an ACO. It concluded that some, if not most, providers may be better off forming a commercial ACO because of cost concerns and overly restrictive requirements. The article is meant to be a practical look at the challenges a major provider group (such as Marshfield) faces in implementing part of the Affordable Care Act.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
I would advise other journalists to pursue health care attorneys as sources. My goal with this story was to report on the business side of health care, as well as how it intersects with federal policy. Health care attorneys can really help bolster a story from both of those sides.