Medicare Advantage News from Washington
Friday, May 15, 2009
As healthcare reform activities continue to intensify, I will now be providing you regular briefings on the situation in Washington, DC. You can also receive these briefings via RSS. Please add my feed to your reader.
This first briefing comes on the heels of another feverish lobbying trip to Washington. I was joined by CAPG Chairman, Dr. Jay Cohen and CAPG Chair-elect, Dr. Keith Wilson, along with many other CAPG members and lobbyists. After two weeks of back to back meetings with several dozen Congress members and their staff, it’s clear that our efforts to ensure coordinated care is part of Medicare reform is having an impact.
The good news is that in every meeting and with both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives, we’re witnessing the connection policymakers are making between the quality care they want to see and what California’s physician groups have been providing to more than 1.4 million Medicare Advantage patients.
From Senators Feinstein’s and Boxer’s office to key Senate and House Committee and SubCommittee chairs including Senator Max Baucus (Finance), Rep. Pete Stark (Health), Rep. Henry Waxman (Energy and Commerce), and Rep. George Miller (Labor and Education), negotiations are starting to include the framework of coordinated care and the Accountable Care Organizations that mirror what we’ve been spearheading in California over the past decade.
But all is not rosy. Financial cuts to Medicare Advantage are still highly likely and threaten to increase costs for our patients. As Medicare Advantage gets intertwined with healthcare reform negotiations, it’s imperative that those who want to keep their Medicare Advantage services and keep them affordable tell their Congress member and local news media not to reduce the funds that are building electronic medical record and prescribing systems, managing chronic diseases and compensating basic primary care needs for millions of patients.
Health reform proposal language is expected out within the next few weeks. Debate will begin in earnest in June and you’ll be hearing from me with updates and calls to action. In the meantime, please forward the link to our action center to your friends, family and coworkers. Our Congressional representatives need to hear from them about the important role Medicare Advantage is playing in their lives, and they way to get involved is by spending three minutes at http://www.AmericansForCoordinatedHealthcare.org
Yours in Health,
Don Crane
P.S. You can also receive these briefings via RSS. Please add my feed to your reader.
Coordinated Care Facts
In 2007, Medicare Advantage saved seniors nearly $90 per month or $1000 per year in out of pocket costs. An estimated savings of approximately $7 billion annually. Additionally, compared to traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans can reduce out-of-pocket costs by up to $4,000 annually for patients with the highest healthcare needs.
- Comprehensive Care: Patients receive integrated treatment plans, and expert case management and disease prevention strategies for the chronically ill.
- Cost-Effective Care: Integrated medical groups are able to support investments in advanced healthcare information technology, tracking patient follow-through on treatment plans and patient outcomes, and helping to uncover health problems before they become catastrophic.
- Accessible Care: Efficiencies within the coordinated care delivery model mean better healthcare for more seniors, including:
• lower out-of-pocket costs
• increased health services such as dental care, vision care and preventive care
• reduced hospitalizations
• increased prescription coverage
• higher overall satisfaction rates
• greater value for the premium dollar than any other healthcare delivery system
What’s At Risk
If Medicare reforms dismantle incentives for coordinated care, seniors will experience significant increases in out of pocket costs - at a time when many seniors have seen their retirement account’s decline by over 40 percent in value — and decreased quality of healthcare.
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