the worst part is they think that the rich will pay for the poor's healthcare
the fact is, they won't miss the money but the middle class, after losing their employment provided healthcare, will suffer the lose so who really loses? the middle class On Nov 21, 9:48 am, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > Doctors prepare for fee change > > Efforts to cut costs would overhaul payment system > > By Robert Weisman > <http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=Robert+Weisman&ca...> > Globe Staff / November 21, 2009 > > E-mail this article > > To: > Invalid E-mail address > Add a personal message:/(80 character limit)/ Your E-mail: > Invalid E-mail address > > Sending your article > > Your article has been sent. > > * E-mail <javascript:void(0)>| > * Print > > <http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/11/21/massach...>| > * Reprints <http://www.globereprints.com/>| > * Yahoo! Buzz > > <http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=bostoncom751&guid=http%3A%2F%...>| > * ShareThis <javascript:void(0)> > > Text size -- + > > Health care providers in Massachusetts are preparing for a dramatic > change in how they get paid. But whether the state's proposed payment > system overhaul can succeed in reining in costs and boosting the quality > of care will depend on how it's structured and put into practice. > > <http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/11/21/massach...> > Discuss > COMMENTS (7) > <http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/11/21/massach...> > > That was the consensus of speakers on a health care panel yesterday > during a summit on business leadership and public policy at the John F. > Kennedy Library in Dorchester. The event was sponsored by the > Progressive Business Leadership Network, a group that promotes socially > and environmentally responsible economic growth. > > "We've been reinvesting in the infrastructure of our organization to be > ready for the moment that's about to arrive,'' said Gene Lindsey, chief > executive of Atrius Health, a Newton-based alliance of community > physicians groups that includes Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. > "We're ready and excited. We believe that everything we're doing now is > like building Noah's Ark, and the flood is coming.'' > > Lindsey was referring to the recommendation of a special commission > created by the state Legislature to stem the annual escalation of health > care costs, which, according to Secretary of Health and Human Services > JudyAnn Bigby, averages $3,000 more per person in Massachusetts than > other states. If left unchecked, Bigby said, state health costs are on > track to double between now and 2020. > > The commission recommended that Massachusetts insurers and public payers > scrap their current method of paying doctors and hospitals negotiated > fees for individual visits or procedures. Instead, it wants to put pro > viders on a budget, paying a set amount intended to cover the cost of a > patient's medical care for a year. > > That proposal, which would have to be approved by lawmakers, is being > called a "global payment'' system. > > "The fee-for-services system was viewed uniformly as being broken,'' > Bigby told the panel, citing increases in the volume of tests, > procedures, and other services. "The feeling was there's just too much > incentive to do more volume as a way to generate revenue.'' > > Yet she acknowledged that "we could reform the payment system and still > not get the results we'd like to see.'' Bigby said the danger is if the > state's biggest hospitals and doctors groups, which would team up as > "accountable care organizations,'' used their clout to command higher > reimbursements. > > Paul F. Levy, chief executive of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in > Boston, said rates paid to insurers already are based on market power, > rather than clinical outcomes, under today's system. He said Partners > HealthCare System, the state's largest hospital group that includes > Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's > Hospital, gets the highest rates, followed by Beth Israel Deaconess. > > "Everyone else gets less,'' Levy said. > > To avoid locking that system into place in the new global payments era, > Levy said, state government would have to set the rates or require > public disclosure of health providers' insurance rates statewide. That > would pressure payers and providers to set rates more fairly, he said. > > Another potential problem with a "per body, per year'' approach is that > it could shift the risk of calculating health costs to providers from > insurers, which keep larger cash reserves on hand than hospitals, Levy said. > > The new system could also make it more difficult for employers to be > smart buyers of medical coverage - by designing their insurance plans to > give employees incentives to be healthier and find more efficient care, > said Philip J. Edmundson, chief executive of William Gallagher > Associations, an insurance brokerage company based in Boston. > > "One concern of businesses [that] are paying for most of the insurance > is that the ability to control costs, manage costs, and get information > about costs will no longer be available,'' Edmundson warned. > > Richard Pops, chief executive of Cambridge biotechnology company > Alkermes Inc. <http://finance.boston.com/boston?Page=QUOTE&Ticker=ALKS>, > which makes drugs to treat alcoholism, depression, and other diseases, > said a new payment system should be flexible enough to allow insurance > coverage of new treatments that drive down medical costs in the long run. > > Potential pitfalls notwithstanding, health care companies are preparing > themselves for payment changes. That was one goal of an expanded > alliance struck last week between Beth Israel Deaconess and Atrius > Health that is aimed at controlling costs while maintaining quality. > > Lindsey called payment overhaul a first step toward revamping the health > care system. "We can be trapped into trying to fix it all at once or > just getting started,'' he said. "I vote for just getting started.'' > > /Robert Weisman can be reached at [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. / > > � Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. > > pointer_top.gif > < 1KViewDownload > > loading_icon.gif > 2KViewDownload > > pointer_bottom.gif > < 1KViewDownload > > comments.jpg > 1KViewDownload > > dingbat_story_end_icon.gif > < 1KViewDownload -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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