Photo: Army Medicine via Flickr
It seems like every week there’s a new press release about a new health innovation center opening up shop.
Since passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which emphasized the transition from patient volume to value, innovation centers have been popping up all over the country. Becker’s Hospital Review has identified at least 50 hospitals with innovation programs. Continue reading
HealthCare.gov
Buzzfeed’s Kate Nocera and Paul McLeod last week broke the story that the Trump administration – which has already cut the marketing and navigator budget for the coming shortened open enrollment season – is now pulling out of enrollment events across the country. Its 10 regional directors will not be helping with planning, a break from Obama administration practices. Continue reading
Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Sen. Lindsey Graham
The Graham-Cassidy repeal bill – which essentially would change Medicaid into a per-capita cap – has suddenly come back to life. Republicans are making one more effort to live up to years of campaign pledges to repeal the Affordable Care Act before they run out of time.
The Senate has to vote by Sept. 30 if it wants to pass a repeal bill with just 50 votes. After that, the current budget resolution is no longer in effect, and any legislation would require a bipartisan 60 votes. Continue reading
Photo: Beverly Yuen Thompson via Flickr
Accountable Care Organizations, which were created by the Affordable Care Act as one way to improve the delivery of health care, may become an important want to reduce the wide variation in end-of-life (EOL) care, two academic researchers suggest in a recent Health Affairs blog post.
As we have pointed out repeatedly, while the political and fiscal battles have been over the coverage provisions in the ACA, much of the law also contains incentives and programs to improve both care quality and efficiency. And there are ample opportunities to do so toward the end of life, including in hospice. Continue reading
Photo: Matt Johnson via Flickr
With efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act sidelined, for now, it may be a good time take a closer look at a Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) proposal in case similar attempts to change insurance market regulation resurface when Congress returns from its August break.
Vox’s Dylan Scott has written that any significant reforms to Obamacare will not come until September at the very earliest, although some bipartisan discussion of ways to stabilize the individual market exchanges has begun. My AHCJ colleague Joanne Kenen in a recent blog post outlined various options going forward. Continue reading