Health Care Delivery

Dramatic changes in medical payment and economics began with the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Cardiologists weighed in on how this law is expected to impact upon their treatment decisions and business economics.

The realities of the emerging healthcare marketplace are quickly being recognized. Layna Cook, with law firm, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, discussed these realities with her presentation, The Impact of Health Reform's State Exchanges.

A recent press release from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed the group's intention to recruit Navigators in assisting consumers with the new healthcare exchanges, especially as October enrollment dates quickly approach.

As a side effect of national sequester cuts, many cancer clinics have been forced to turn away Medicare patients.

Could two years really have made the difference? While some healthcare reforms proposals have called for raising Medicare eligibility from age 65 to 67 to address cost concerns associated with the Affordable Care Act, President Obama has made it clear that he would not consider increasing the age limit as a way to aid the national deficit.

Steve Melnick, President, SM Innovations, says that accountable care organizations (ACOs) will impact the pharmacy benefit by moving the healthcare system from a volume-based to a value-based model.

The initial push to reach the uninsured masses before final implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is in full force. The Obama administration is planning to campaign as early as this July, eager to register constituents by the October 1 start date.

For the second time in 6 months, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials have revised readmission penalties for hospitals. In doing so, approximately 1200 hospitals are now subject to lesser penalties.

The Affordable Care Act has left many healthcare professionals pondering the future of healthcare delivery. This all-encompassing discussion has many layers; however, at the American College of Cardiology 62nd Annual Scientific Session and Expo, a panel of experts discussed some of the specific variables-such as the need for better data and a more prominent role for nurses-as they relate to healthcare delivery in this transitory time.

Starting in September 2014, members of the public will be able to access a searchable database containing information about gifts and payments that pharmaceutical companies have given to physicians.

The implementation of health insurance exchanges (HIX) is one that contains a plethora of variables. While more than 30 states have opted to allow the federal government to take control of their HIX, other states, such as Mississippi and Utah, continue to seek ways to implement the exchange without ceding total control.

According to reports this week from the Associated Press, governors who reject health insurance for the poor under new healthcare reform laws will have exposed a peculiar loophole in the system-some US citizens would be forced to go without Medicaid coverage, while their immigrant counterparts would remain covered.

The future US primary care system will be one characterized by diversity in both delivery structures and personnel. This diversity will benefit from a collaborative approach in which stakeholders realize high degrees of interdependency.

Despite rejections of multiples states' pleas for partial expansion of Medicaid, President Obama has given the green light for health insurance marketplaces in 6 states.

According to a report by InformationWeek earlier this month, the federal government has exceeded the $2 billion mark in spending to help establish infrastructure for health insurance exchanges.

Peter Cunningham, PhD, Senior Fellow and Director of Quantitative Research, Center for Studying Health System Change, says that the expansion of people gaining coverage will be a big challenge for primary care delivery systems.

The Medicare program as we know it is at a crossroad. But, just how important is it to voters? The Kaiser Family Foundation shed some light on that question Thursday when it released a report stating that 73% of respondents polled in the days around the announcement of Paul Ryan as the running mate of presumptive Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney described Medicare as "very important" or "extremely important" to their votes.