Policy Options to Sustain Medicare for the Future; Hospital Readmissions

This posting covers two reports


1) Kaiser Family Foundation: Policy Options to Sustain Medicare for the Future

http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/8402.pdf

this has many useful options considered, not all of which would I recommend.  Please let me know which options you support.

2) Commonwealth Fund:  University of California, San Francisco Medical Center: Reducing Readmissions Through Heart Failure Care Management

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Case-Studies/2012/Nov/University-of-California-San-Francisco.aspx?omnicid=18

this report shows successful reductions in readmissions. 

A Regional Analysis Of Which Hospitals Got Rewards, Penalties Based On Quality

http://khne.ws/VPpSuu

here is kaiser health news article on which hospitals received bonuses and penalties from Medicare based  on quality performance measures.  Why did all of the Washington D.C. hospitals fare poorly on these measures.?  Is it their patient characteristics? If so, does that raise questions about the measures? 

Rise in health care spending continues to be low

There is quite a bit of press today noting that for the third straight year, health care costs have risen at a fairly slow rate.

here is an abstract of the original article in Health Affairs. It is very hard to reach today due to interest in it. 

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/32/1/87.abstract

here is link to full article

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/32/1/87.full


here are some sources of articles published today.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2013/January/08/health-spending-news.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/us/health-spending-growth-stays-low-for-third-straight-year.html?_r=0

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/07/the-2-7-trillion-question-are-health-care-costs-really-dropping/

I wrote last August about this issue.  There was speculation that the slower rise might be related to Obamacare, but no definitive link has been established.  

Here are three previous blogs. 

http://healthreformaction.blogspot.com/2012/08/deceleration-in-health-spending-full.html

http://healthreformaction.blogspot.com/2012/08/obamacare-may-be-causing-slowdown-in.html

http://healthreformaction.blogspot.com/2012/08/obamacare-may-have-reduced-inlfation.html