January 31, 2014
On Thursday, HHS officials announced savings stemming from the Accountable Care Organizations set up under the Affordable Care Act. Several outlets, –some national papers – cover the news, painting a positive picture of what is seen as a major aspect of the law. USA Today (1/31, Kennedy) reports that, according to CMS, the ACO pilot program saved Medicare “more than $380 million in its first year of operation.” Jonathan Blum, the principal deputy administrator for the Center for Medicare Services, in making the announcement said, “We are even more pleased that the quality scores are improving.”
Reuters (1/31, Morgan) quotes Blum further, “Overall, the ACO program’s a net saver to the Medicare program. It’s giving us great confidence that this is the right course for the Medicare program and we are confident that it will continue to show quality improvement and cost savings.”
The Wall Street Journal (1/31, Beck, Subscription Publication) reports that CMS revealed about half of the 114 hospitals and doctors groups that started Accountable Care Organizations under the Affordable Care Act in 2013 successfully slowed Medicare spending in their first year, but only 29 of them saved sufficient money to qualify for bonus payments. Still, CMS was pleased with the progress.
The Hill (1/31, Easley) “Healthwatch” blog reports that in a statement, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also lauded the news. Also reporting are CNBC (1/31, Mangan), the National Journal (1/31, Ritger, Subscription Publication), CQ (1/31, Reichard, Subscription Publication), Modern Healthcare (1/31, Evans, Subscription Publication), the Arizona Republic (1/31, Alltucker), and Bloomberg BusinessWeek (1/31, Tozzi).
Article courtesy American Medical Association
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