Letter, ad campaign seek to reverse planned cuts
Congressional budget committee leaders are under pressure to reject budget cuts in Medicare and Medicaid expenditures proposed by the Bush administration and overturn Medicaid funding cuts planned for May. A letter written by Reps. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.) and Phil English (R-Pa.) and signed by 264 Representatives and 59 Senators urges the committees to rethink proposed federal program cuts as they work on a final FY2009 budget. Several hospital organizations have also unveiled an advertising campaign, which will target overturning reductions slated for Medicaid on May 25 that would cut funding for safety net hospitals, teaching hospitals and outpatient treatment centers.
Pay-for-quality program shows positive results
Early results of a pay-for-quality pilot program reveal improvements in quality of care and reductions in emergency room and hospital admissions. The results were released by HealthSpring Inc., whose focus is the Medicare Advantage market. HealthSpring’s pay for quality pilot structures reimbursements for physicians to encourage more extensive preventive care, rewarding physicians for performing key preventive screenings and check-ups. The pilot program covered three states and nine practices with 87 physicians and 7,468 members in 2007.
Study: sprawl could aid health system growth
A study shows that growing Washington, D.C. suburbs are providing construction growth and merger opportunities for health systems. HealthLeaders-InterStudy reported that, according to the Washington, D.C. Market Overview report, rapid growth in population and increased demand for medical services have caused health systems to jockey for market share in the growing suburbs of Virginia and Maryland.
Referral patterns at ASCs draw attention in study
Physicians with financial interest in ambulatory surgery centers are more likely to refer well-insured patients to their facility, according to a study published in Health Affairs. The study found that leading referrers to ASCs owned by physicians referred 92 percent of privately insured patients to those facilities, compared with about 8 percent to hospital outpatient departments. By contrast, these physicians were 36 percent more likely to direct Medicaid patients than privately insured patients to hospital outpatient departments.