CLINICAL NEWS
Privacy, Shmivacy
Prioritizing Quality Over Quantity
The Health and Human Services has set specific targets for Medicare
spending within the next few years, with a goal of moving away from feefor service models to alternative payment approaches:
53
%
of interviewees in a poll conducted by NPR
and Truven Health Analytics said they would
be willing to share personal health information anonymously for research purposes.
85% of all Medicare fee-for-service
payments tied to quality or value by 2016,
and 90% by the end of 2018
There did seem to be a generational
gap though:
61% of participants younger
than 35 were fine with sharing
health information,
2016, 85%
2018, 90%
but only 43% of those older
than 65 approved.
Source: NPR-Truven Health Analytics poll
Insurance Taking a Bite Out of Workers’ Paychecks
1,500
30% (or $113 billion) of Medicare payments
tied to quality or value through alternative
payment models by the end of 2016, and
50% (or $215 billion) by the end of 2018
1,200
900
600
2016, 30%
2018, 50%
300
0
2003
2013
From $518 to $1,273
The average cost of deductibles for employer-sponsored health insurance more than
doubled from 2003 to 2013, according to a recent survey by the Commonwealth Fund.
On top of that, more workers are paying deductibles – 81%, up from 52%. While premiums for employer-sponsored coverage have slowed in the post-Affordable Care Act era,
“Clearly the slowdowns have not translated into relief for workers, who are spending
more of their incomes on health coverage,” said Commonwealth Fund president David
Blumenthal, MD.
“This is the first time in the history of the program that explicit goals for
alternative payment models and value-based payments have been set for
Medicare,” Sylvia M. Burwell, HHS Secretary, wrote. “Although we have
much to celebrate regarding increased access and quality and reduced cost
growth, much of the hard work of improving our health-care system lies
ahead of us.”
Source: The Commonwealth Fund, “National Trends in the Cost of Employer Health Insurance Coverage, 2002-2013.”
Source: Burwell SM. N Engl J Med. 2015 January 26. [Epub ahead of print]
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