CIRI Shareholders Receive National Indian Health Board Awards

March 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment

dr terry simpson receives health care awardCongratulations to Southcentral Foundation (SCF) Board Member Dr. Terry Simpson and SCF President and CEO Dr. Katherine Gottlieb for being awarded the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) Area/Regional Impact Awards at the 30th Annual Consumer Conference Aug. 28 in Denver, Colo. Both Simpson and Gottlieb are CIRI shareholders and Simpson formerly served on the CIRI Board.

The awards are presented to individuals or organizations whose work has contributed to improving American Indian and Alaska Native health care or affected change on an area or regional basis.

According to SCF, Simpson’s impact has been in the areas of health education and health systems governance. As a physician, he champions the importance of a healthy diet and the health benefits of traditional Alaska Native subsistence foods such as wild game, fish, berries and root vegetables. Simpson, who has been part of SCF’s visionary growth, also helps SCF share its story so that other organizations interested in improving their health systems can learn from what he considers “the greatest health care system in the world.”
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Lawmakers release plan to repeal SGR

February 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment

congressFebruary 7, 2014
News that lawmakers have released a plan that would permanently fix the sustainable growth rate received coverage in a few major US newspapers, and was widely covered in the beltway media. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle praised the deal, as did some medical associations, including the American Medical Association. AMA president Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven is quoted in many of the articles. However, many sources point out that lawmakers must still find a way to pay for the bill.

The Los Angeles Times (2/7, Levey) reports, “In a rare bipartisan agreement,” legislators “have settled on a plan to fix Medicare’s system for paying physicians, potentially ending years of uncertainty that often held up fees for” physicians who care for elderly patients. However, this “proposed fix still must be paid for,” which means that lawmakers still have to “come up with as much as $150 billion in savings from elsewhere in the budget.” Dr. Hoven said, “This legislation is the product of months of unprecedented bipartisan, bicameral work to reach this landmark agreement.”
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CMS: ACO pilot program saved Medicare $380 million in 2013

January 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment

January 31, 2014
affordable care actOn 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.”
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CMS grants Maryland hospital spending waiver

January 13, 2014 By Leave a Comment

January 13, 2014
health care reformSeveral publications, both large circulation newspapers and niche sources, reported over the weekend on Federal approval of Maryland’s initiative to control hospital costs.

In an article entitled “Maryland Experiments With Capping Hospital Spending,” the Wall Street Journal (1/10, Dooren, Schatz, Subscription Publication) reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a waiver to Maryland to set its own Medicare rates for hospitals. Maryland agreed to save $330 million in Medicare cost savings over five years. The plan waiver was supported by the state’s major hospitals and insurance companies.
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