Thursday, January 9, 2014

The ACA and the Cost Curve

1) The ACA and the cost curve

On Tuesday, the newspapers discussed an article in Health Affiars that showed that while costs had declined, there is no evidnece that the ACA is a factor.   While I agree that there is no defnitive evidence that the ACA is a factor, I think there is a very reasonable possibility that it is.  The White House agrees that the ACA is a factor. 

See for example KHN: Health Care Spending Grew At Record Slow Pace

Some provisions that could make a difference:  Pay for performance,  Hospital readmission penalties, more emphasis on accountable care organizations, other integration initiatives (e.g. in post-acute care), 80% requirement on medical underwriting, and expansion of community health centers. In Medicare: more preventive services in Medicare and closing the donut hole. The creation of the exchanges is another factor as the insurance companies are likely to have lowered costs to be competitive in the marketplaces. 

Peter Orszag and several others have written well on this.  See
previous posts

Deceleration in Health Spending - full article

Obamacare may be causing a slowdown in health spending

See also:
Health Care Reform: Views From The Hospital Executive Suite   Hospital Execs predict savings from ACA.  

 2)  Commonwealth: New Survey Finds Rise in Visits to Insurance Marketplaces Since October; Many Shoppers Young, Healthy

Some useful results.  Encouraging as younger people showed interest in ACA. 

3) WSJ Health News (@WSJhealth) 8 Jan 14:

Massachusetts Wastes Third of Health Spending, Report Says on.wsj.com/1hwLpXp

4) KHN: Supplemental Plans Raise Medicare Costs 22 Percent 

Need to read entire article as there is a debate in it. 

5) KHN: More Insurers Extend Premium Payment Deadlines  

6) KHN: As Workers' Insurance Costs Rise, Bosses (Sometimes Wrongly) Blame Obamacare  

7)  Fight To Cut Health Costs Depends On States

The States can play a role but can only contribute part of the answer.  

8) New One-stop Rating Site for California Consumers

see also KHN article 



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