The other part of health reform: Changing the delivery of care

March 10, 1 p.m. ET

UPDATE: As part of his remarks, Patrick Conway, M.D., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services principal deputy administrator, will discuss a new CMS initiative regarding accountable care organizations that is launching today. Webcast content is embargoed until 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

Reforms to the health care delivery system have been overshadowed by the Affordable Care Act enrollment story.

The ACA is more than a way to extend health care coverage to millions of Americans. The 2010 law also takes steps to shift how we deliver health care – to do a better job of managing chronic diseases, to make hospitals safer, to move away from fee-for-service, to get more quality for our health care spending. It’s a big challenge but it doesn’t get as much attention as the coverage aspects of the ACA, partly because it’s not so politically radioactive.

The ACA created the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test new ways of delivering care, to evaluate what works and then to spread the word. CMMI director Patrick Conway, M.D., M.Sc., – who was also just named the deputy administrator for CMS – will join AHCJ for a webcast to describe some of what CMMI is doing and share some early results. Conway will talk about accountable care organizations, medical homes and the recently announced HHS push to speed up the move from fee-for-service to a value-based payment system. Health care providers around the country are taking part in CMMI initiatives and private sector counterparts. There are stories galore to be found.

The initiatives in payment and delivery reform have three goals – getting improved quality, without spending more. Or cutting costs, but keeping quality intact. Or – the holy grail – improving quality AND reducing cost.

Joanne Kenen, AHCJ’s health reform core topic leader, will lead the discussion and moderate questions and answers from reporters.

Speaker

Patrick Conway, M.D., M.Sc., is the deputy administrator for innovation and quality & CMS chief medical officer. He leads the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at CMS. CCSQ is responsible for all quality measures for CMS, value-based purchasing programs, quality improvement programs in all 50 states, clinical standards and survey and certification of Medicare and Medicaid health care providers across the nation, and all Medicare coverage decisions for treatments and services.

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