ACO Details Are Out: The Policy & Practice Podcast

After much anticipation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finally released the final rule on accountable care organizations. As physician and hospital groups were initially wary of ACOs, CMS said they’ve considered the suggestions and the rule was adjusted accordingly. Among other changes, interested physicians will now have more time to get an  ACO up and running.

Dr. Don Berwick discusses the future of Medicare. Courtesy the Bipartisan Policy Center

Meanwhile, other parts of the new health law haven’t has the same success. The administration has cancelled CLASS, the law’s long-term insurance program, calling if financially unsustainable.

The decision has given GOP lawmakers ammunition for arguments against the ACA.

For details on that and much more, listen to this week’s Policy & Practice Podcast.

–Frances Correa (@FMCReporting)

Congress Tackles SGR…Again: The Policy & Practice Podcast

Lawmakers are once again debating the feasibility of replacing the Sustainable Growth Rate, that much-despised formula that requires ever-deeper cuts to physician pay under Medicare.  At a hearing last week, House members predicted that a potential alternative might be in the offing as soon as this summer.

Via Wikimedia Commons user AndreasPraefcke

It is indeed a Sisyphean task.  Leading the boulder-pushing in the House is Texas Republican Michael Burgess, who is also a doctor.

Physicians have heard it all before, but they are being given an opportunity to weigh in perhaps as they haven’t before.

House Republicans also took a swipe at the Affordable Care Act last week, passing two bills to defund some minor provisions of the law.

At the same time they were declaring victory, however, some members of the GOP admitted that it was becoming increasingly unlikely that they’d be able to repeal health reform.

For more on the congressional machinations, take a listen to this week’s three-minute installment of the Policy & Practice Podcast.

Let us know what you think.

—Alicia Ault (on Twitter @aliciaault)

GOP Budget Passes the House: The Policy & Practice Podcast

The House passed the controversial GOP budget plan Friday. The plan,  proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), delegates Medicaid to the states in the form of block grants. It also would basically privatize Medicare for everyone who is younger than 55 today.  President Obama said the plan will end Medicare as we know it.  He brought forward his own deficit-reduction plan, which he said would get the country back on track within 12 years.

Gov. Haley Barbour said Republican governors will present their recommendation on health care reform to Congress in May. Photo by Alicia Ault

Meanwhile, Republican governors are working up their own recommendations on health reform, which, according to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, would include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Listen to this week’s Policy & Practice podcast to hear more. Stay tuned for more updates on May 2, after Congress returns from its two-week break.

–Frances Correa

GOP Ready to Take on Health Reform: The Policy & Practice Podcast

The dust is still settling from the midterm elections and the newly elected members of Congress and the Senate, as well as governors, attorneys general, and other officials won’t start work until January, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from getting busy with plans to overhaul or slow down health reform.

Courtesy Flickr Creative Commons user wmrice

While House GOP leaders formulate legislative strategies, state officials continue to pursue change through the courts.

Physicians, meanwhile, are starting their press for relief from Medicare fee cuts due to take effect on Dec. 1.

All this and more in this week’s installment of the Policy & Practice podcast.

– Alicia Ault (on Twitter @aliciaault)

Talk is Cheap. Or Is It?

On Wednesday, as the U.S. Senate continued to debate a potential overhaul of the American health care system, the Republican party made its strategy clear: it’s going to talk the bill to death.

Courtesy Flickr user PinkMoose

Up until yesterday, the tactic was executed in a relatively polite fashion. Republican Senators took to the floor and spoke at length about their objections. The bill broke President Obama’s promise to not raise taxes for the middle class. It would add to the deficit. It would give the government too much power. It would irreparably harm Medicare.

But Wednesday, as the media reported that public support for the health overhaul was slipping (here and here), the GOP smelled blood in the water.  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced an amendment to establish a single-payer system. Everyone knew it would be voted down.  But Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okl.) saw an opportunity.

He requested that the amendment, all almost-800-pages, be read aloud by the clerk of the Senate. Request granted. Three hours into what was estimated to be a 10-12-hour reading, Sen. Sanders withdrew his amendment.

Having made the point, the Republicans signaled that they were likely to insist on a reading of the “manager’s amendment” likely to be introduced today or on Friday by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). That overarching package, which will attempt to contain all the remaining details of health reform, could run to 1,000 pages or more.

Thus, a reading could take a day, or longer.  Republicans argue that Americans — and legislators — have a right to know every single line of the package.  Democrats have promised a 72-hour review period.

The Republicans seem to be gambling that by talking, talking some more, and then talking some more they’ll come out looking like the voice of reason.  That it’s a cheap way to accomplish the goal — whether it’s foiling the Democrats’ stated Christmas deadline for passage, or scrapping the bill altogether.

But is that what America’s Republicans really want? Will the gamble cost them more than they think?

Polling data indicates that, as of now, Americans are about evenly split on which party they’d like to control Congress after the elections in 2010.

— Alicia Ault (on Twitter @aliciaault)

One Vote Down, Many to Go: The Policy & Practice Podcast

From Congressional hearings, press briefings, and related health care events around Washington, D.C.

Technical quirks caused us to miss our Monday post, but here, one day late, is your weekly installment of the Policy & Practice Podcast. Last week, a Senate committee passed its bill, the AMA unexpectedly weighed in, and the President added his two cents. Take a listen: In just 2 minutes, you’ll be all caught up on the progress of health care reform.

Policy & Practice Podcast, July 20

Like what you hear? Check this space every Monday for your weekly 2-minute podcast. And let us know what you think!

—Denise Fulton (@denisefulton on Twitter)