The website of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget is a good source of information related to the recently passed health care reform law. The Director of the OMB, Peter R. Orsza, recently posted on the OMB blog about policy options that have the biggest potential for reducing long-term health care cost-growth. Some of the proposals are:
- Create Accountable Care Organizations – The legislation includes a Medicare Shared Savings Program that will encourage physicians and hospitals to work together to increase accountability for patients and better coordinate their care both improving the quality of medical care while lowering costs.
- Bundle Payments to Hospitals and Other Providers – The legislation creates a National Pilot Program on Payment Bundling that will test methods to better integrate hospital, post-acute care, and other services so that Medicare beneficiaries receive better coordinated, higher quality, and more efficient care.
- Provide Additional Information About Treatments’ Effectiveness – The legislation creates a private, non-profit organization for Patient Centered Health Research to examine the comparative clinical effectiveness, risks, and benefits of different treatments and services.
There are many other provions in the 2,000+page health care reform law. I wonder though – is it the role of the U.S. Governement to particpiate and manage the costs of private industry?