On October 1st two important cost containment provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect. Both promise to have a major positive effect on the entire health care system, by making hospitals more responsible for high quality care.
One provision taking effect will penalize hospitals whenever a patient is re-admitted within a month of a visit for a condition that should have been resolved the first time. The other new provision will rate Medicare providers and provide higher payments to hospitals that consistently deliver better care. Eventually, we all will have access to ratings of hospitals and doctors, so they can make more informed choices for medical care. And with the higher reimbursement rates for quality care, hospitals will be competing for all the right reasons.
Thanks for the info!!!
Great Post Wendy !!! You can already get ratings on Hospitals & Doctors or any Medical Providers. It even gives you the option of seeing the Medical Providers statistics on different Medical Diagnoses. I will look that up today. I used that a lot working for BC&BS & is a public website. I will just have to find it again. Private Insurers have had performance incentive's for doctors for many years. There has been a big focus in all aspects of the Medical Industry for Preventative Care in the past 10 years. Everyone has finally realized that by focusing on people staying healthy it is a better total health plan. It is much better for peoples long term health & cheaper for insurers to have to pay claims for major illnesses that could have been prevented. Sorry....sometimes I ramble...I am just very excited about your post. Anytime the health Community takes positive steps for patient care is a Major Deal & so very Wonderful !!!!!!
Trazy,
I think that would be great information to have on hand. I've used the public sites before but the information is spotty. As a Chiarian and a mother of a son with Type 1 Diabetes I am very grateful for the ACA. People don't realize how much it will change medicine. This article is great. Thought you'ld like to read it.
Great Post Wendy !!! You can already get ratings on Hospitals & Doctors or any Medical Providers. It even gives you the option of seeing the Medical Providers statistics on different Medical Diagnoses. I will look that up today. I used that a lot working for BC&BS & is a public website. I will just have to find it again. Private Insurers have had performance incentive's for doctors for many years. There has been a big focus in all aspects of the Medical Industry for Preventative Care in the past 10 years. Everyone has finally realized that by focusing on people staying healthy it is a better total health plan. It is much better for peoples long term health & cheaper for insurers to have to pay claims for major illnesses that could have been prevented. Sorry....sometimes I ramble...I am just very excited about your post. Anytime the health Community takes positive steps for patient care is a Major Deal & so very Wonderful !!!!!!
Thanks for posting Wendy. I have insurance (PCIP) because of the ACA...thus was able to have my decompression surgery 3 weeks ago (today)! Lets hope it doesn't get repealed...it will make a huge difference for even more people in 2014!
Wendy,
Let me say again Great Article ! Thank you so much for posting it !
These are links to Medical Provider Rating Websites. I hope they help until the ACA one is set up !!
http://www.vitals.com/doctor/checkup
http://at-home-care.findthebest.com/l/3027/Home-Bound-Healthcare-Inc
Does anyone know if the elimination of the lifetime limits and pre-existing conditions have taken effect yet? I totally agree that to anyone with a condition like chiari the ACA is a wonderful thing. Please everyone vote so that they will not repeal it!!! We all need and deserve proper care without the fear of losing everything.
Yes, The HCRA has already made it illegal to deny insurance due to pre existing conditions and lifetime limits. Also keep your eye out for a "Huge" announcement from Ben's Friends regarding these subjects.
This is a list of provisions by year......I Agree Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote!
That is an INCREDIBLE FIND !!!! Thank you !!!! Everyone Should read this Information !!!
This is the 2011 link that goes along with Wendy's Link.
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/full.html#2011
wendyanne said:
This is a list of provisions by year......I Agree Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote!
This is a link about the ACA from the current Presidential Administration:
So true! Remember this on November 6th!
pdrum said:
Does anyone know if the elimination of the lifetime limits and pre-existing conditions have taken effect yet? I totally agree that to anyone with a condition like chiari the ACA is a wonderful thing. Please everyone vote so that they will not repeal it!!! We all need and deserve proper care without the fear of losing everything.
My concern for some of the health care movement is that some times there are so many conditions that may have complications,that no one can predict.This would not be best for patients if the prognois is taken out o fthe hands of the patient and thier dr.I would hate to think that someone other than me and my dr.would be allowed to make calls on things that concern my health.
Lynn,
There is no provision in the ACA that takes the decision making out of the doctor patient relationship. It functions just like traditional healthcare does now. There are cost cutting measures that focus on better patient care, doctors working as teams in hospital enviroments to better serve patient needs, more efficencies in billing and record keeping, knocking down barriers that keep doctors from colaborating, waste, fraud and abuse ect..
If you are talking about the 15 member Independant Payment Advisory Board this is what they are tasked with doing....
The Board, or IPAB — a provision included in the Affordable Care Act — is tasked with making binding recommendations to Congress for lowering health care spending, should Medicare costs exceed a target growth rate. Congress can accept the savings proposal or implement its own ideas through a super majority.
The panel’s plan will modify payments to providers but it cannot “include any recommendation to ration health care, raise revenues or Medicare beneficiary premiums…increase Medicare beneficiary cost-sharing (including deductibles, coinsurance, and co- payments), or otherwise restrict benefits or modify eligibility criteria” (Section 3403 of the ACA). The IPAB will consist of 15 members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and will include a broad spectrum of experts and consumer advocates, like physicians, employers, economists, representatives of consumers and the elderly. In fact, relying on health care experts rather than politicians to control health care costs.
There has been a lot of misinformation regarding Health Care Reform. I hope this helps.
Wendy
Lynn Messer said:
My concern for some of the health care movement is that some times there are so many conditions that may have complications,that no one can predict.This would not be best for patients if the prognois is taken out o fthe hands of the patient and thier dr.I would hate to think that someone other than me and my dr.would be allowed to make calls on things that concern my health.