Posts Tagged ‘President Barack Obama’

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Public Perceives Supreme Court Justices As Biased Over ACA’s Legality

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Approximately 60 percent of Americans believe that the Supreme Court justices who will hear the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will base their judgments more on personal ideology than a legal analysis of the individual mandate, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

Only 28 percent believe the justices will base their decision on the mandate without regard to politics and ideology.  The poll also asked about general views of the Supreme Court and found that 75 percent of the public believe that justices sometimes let their personal politics sway their decisions.  Seventeen percent said justices more often than not decide cases based on legal analysis.  The court is expected to hear oral arguments in March in a case brought against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) by 26 states.

The Kaiser poll found that the individual mandate, a requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance by 2014 or pay a fine, remains unpopular — 67 percent of Americans opposed the provision and just 30 percent supported it.  Overall, approximately 37 percent of Americans view the health law favorably, while 44 percent have an unfavorable view.

In terms of the “repeal and replace” agenda that House Republicans are pursuing, it’s not really winning over the public.  According to the Kaiser poll, 50 percent of respondents would prefer to expand the law or keep it in place; just 40 percent want to repeal it outright or replace it with an alternative.  That could be a problem, since House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts said that a “replace” plan is on the subcommittee’s to-do list, at approximately the same time that the Supreme Court is expected to rule.  Pitts hopes that his caucus will be able to seize the opportunity to sway public opinion: “We’ll have a window of opportunity to — with everyone looking — to explain that the Affordable Care Act is not fully implemented yet.  A lot of people think it is.  So we’ll use that opportunity in that window to discuss the full ramifications of the Affordable Care Act and what we’ll replace it with.”

For example, Justice Elena Kagan (who was Solicitor General at the time the ACA was passed and has recused herself from the Supreme Court case) and noted Supreme Court litigator and Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe, who worked for the Justice Department at the time, had an email exchange in which they discussed the pending healthcare vote.  “I hear they have the votes, Larry!!  Simply amazing,” Kagan wrote to Tribe in an email.

“So healthcare is basically done!” Tribe responded to Kagan.  “Remarkable.  And with the Stupak group accepting the magic of what amounts to a signing statement on steroids!”  The “Stupak group” refers to then-Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI), who masterminded a group of House Democrats who had indicated they would not vote for the ACA if it permitted federal funds to pay for abortions.  Ultimately, Stupak and his allies voted for the bill, even though no additional language was added that would prevent federal funding for abortions.

Writing for KSL.com, contributor Curt Mainwaring muses on what will happen if the Supreme Court upholds the ACA. “If the Supreme Court rules that ACA is constitutional, healthcare costs will likely continue to rise — although at a slower rate than if the law were determined to be unconstitutional.  Healthcare costs currently make up approximately 18 percent of gross domestic product.  If expenditures continue on their current trajectory, ‘the share of GDP devoted to healthcare in the United States is projected to reach 34 percent by 2040.’  In more intimate terms, the Department of Health and Human Services demonstrates individuals paid approximately $1,000 per year in healthcare costs in 1960, more than $7,000 per year in 2007, and are projected to pay more than $13,000 per year by 2018.

“Simply put, this kind of a rise in healthcare costs is unsustainable — and these kinds of projections are part of the reason ACA was created in the first place.  Nevertheless, claims of ACA’s positive impact on the economy have likely been overestimated.  ACA focuses heavily on reducing the cost of health insurance — a factor that will likely result in reduced insurance costs.”

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Will the ACA Survive the Supreme Court, 2012 Election?

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

The 26 states that have challenged President Barack Obamas healthcare law face several dilemmas as they try to convince the Supreme Court to declare the law’s Medicaid expansion unconstitutional   The two lower courts that heard the Medicaid challenge ruled in favor of the Obama administration, even as those judges struck down the healthcare law’s individual mandate. Legal experts on both sides of the mandate debate were surprised that the Supreme Court agreed to also hear the Medicaid piece of the state’  lawsuit.  The healthcare law’s supporters claim that the states erred in their initial brief on the Medicaid expansion, which was filed with the Supreme Court.

According to the states involved in the lawsuit. the ACA’s Medicaid expansion is “coercive.” Although state participation in the program is strictly voluntarily, the brief argues, the healthcare law makes it impossible for states to opt out of Medicaid.  The brief tries hard to link the Medicaid expansion to the individual mandate, arguing that states won’t be able to exercise their legal right to leave Medicaid because it’s the only way for Medicaid-eligible residents to fulfill the mandate.

“While the (Affordable Care Act) purports to leave states’ participation in Medicaid nominally voluntary, multiple aspects of the Act evince Congress’ keen awareness that, in fact, no state will be able to reject its new terms and withdraw from the program,” the brief says. “Most obviously, the ACA’s individual mandate requires Medicaid-eligible individuals to obtain and maintain insurance.”  But most Medicaid-eligible people would be exempt from the mandate, said Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University and a supporter of the health law.

Then there’s the Supreme Court case, which will be heard in the spring and a verdict announced prior to the November presidential election. According to Kurt Mainwaring, a ksl.com contributor, “Far-reaching consequences of the court’s ruling will likely impact both the cost of healthcare and the outcome of the 2012 elections.  If the Supreme Court rules that ACA is constitutional, healthcare costs will likely continue to rise — although at a slower rate than if the law were determined to be unconstitutional.  At present, healthcare costs make up approximately 18 percent of GDP. If expenditures continue on their current trajectory, “the share of GDP devoted to healthcare in the United States is projected to reach 34 percent by 2040.”  Translated to real numbers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notes that Americans paid approximately $1,000 annually in healthcare costs in 1960; more than $7,000 per year in 2007; and are projected to pay more than $13,000 per year by 2018.  This kind of increase in healthcare costs is not sustainable — and these kinds of projections are part of the reason ACA was enacted in the first place.

Beach Conger, a Vermont internist writing in the Burlington Free Press believes that “Medicare for All” — a possibility that was raised during the lengthy debate over the ACA — should be reconsidered.  According to Conger, “Medicare and I were born in the same year. Professionally speaking, that is. We were raised together, and we have been married to each other for what seems an eternity. As with any long-term relationship, we have had our ups and downs, but we have both matured over the years, and I believe we are both the better for it. Without being too vain, I have to say I have done a better job at providing health care, and I have to admit that Medicare has helped me do it.  At first, it just made sure that those retired people who wished to pay me the fees to which those in my line of work have become so accustomed, could actually do so. But eventually it realized that there was more to the business than just money, and it began to keep an eye over my shoulder, making sure I was not leaving undone those things which ought to be done and not doing those things which I ought not.  So I can’t help but think, why not Medicare for everyone? It would be so simple. And that’s when I realized.  It was too simple.”

Dr. Conge, it should be pointed out, lives in Vermont, to date the only of 50 states to enact a single-payer public option — Green Mountain Care.

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Michelle Obama “Joining Forces” With Med Schools to Treat Wounded Warriors

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Two medical education groups and 130 medical schools signed on to First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative to “train the nation’s physicians to meet the unique healthcare needs of the military and veterans’ communities,” the White House announced recently.  The schools pledged to do in-depth research into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and to teach medical students and physicians to “better diagnose and treat our veterans and military families,” according to the announcement.  “By directing some of our brightest minds, our most cutting-edge research, and our finest teaching institutions toward our military families, they’re ensuring that those who have served our country receive the first-rate care that they have earned,” Obama said.

Speaking at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Obama said that the American Association of Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine have pledged to devote research, education and clinical care to address military service members’ crucial healthcare needs.

The initiative is part of the Joining Forces campaign, an effort by the first lady and Dr. Jill Biden that focuses on issues that affect veterans and their families.  Obama cited some examples already are underway at universities, including VCU, which has undertaken a project to provide resources and training to healthcare providers, volunteers and community members across Virginia to help veterans.  Similarly, University of Pittsburgh researchers are developing a new imaging tool that lets physicians see high-definition views of the brain’s wiring. This can help diagnose a TBI. And the University of South Florida is working with the VA and the Department of Defense to create a Center for Veterans Reintegration – a research, treatment and education center for veterans and their families.

“Today the nation’s medical colleges are committing to create a new generation of doctors, medical schools and research facilities to make sure our heroes receive the care worthy of their military service,” Obama said. The idea behind Joining Forces is extremely simple, Obama said. “In a time of war, when our troops and their families are sacrificing so much, we all should be doing everything we can to serve them as well as they are serving this country,” she added. “It’s an obligation that extends to every single American. And, it’s an obligation that does not end when a war ends and troops return home. In many ways, that’s when it begins.”

Mrs. Obama said she became aware of this when she and President Barack Obama welcomed the final troops home from Iraq last month. “I couldn’t shake the feeling that even though we were marking the end of the war, this was not an ending for them.  For our troops, the end of war marks the beginning of a very long period of transition,” she said. Frequently, the transitions from war to home “bring the hardest moments our troops and their families will ever face,” she added.

It is estimated that one in six of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans come home with post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, and at least 4,000 have had at least a moderate-grade brain injury, Mrs. Obama said, noting that many avoid seeking help because of what they perceive as a stigma.  “I want to be very clear today: these mental health challenges are not a sign of weakness,” she said. “They should never again be a source of shame. They are a natural reaction to the challenges of war, and it has been that way throughout the ages.”

Obama thanked the troops and their families for their service, and noted that anyone experiencing mental health difficulties should not be ashamed.  “Seek help, don’t bury it,” she said. “Asking for help is a sign of strength.”  The Pentagon estimates that nearly 213,000 military personnel have suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2000.

A previous report by the Rand Corp. think tank estimated that 300,000 veterans of both conflicts suffered PTSD or major depression.  Less than 50 percent had sought treatment for PTSD over the previous year and approximately 60 percent of those reporting a probable brain injury had not been evaluated by a physician for one.  “This is a long-term issue for the nation,” said Brad Cooper, the executive director of Joining Forces.

“Those of us who have never experienced war will never be able to fully understand the true emotional costs,” Mrs. Obama said. “PTSD, TBI, depression and any other combat-related mental health issue should never again be a source of shame.”

Although the military has strong support systems and personnel trained in combat-related mental health issues, more than half of veterans seek treatment in their hometowns, outside the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Mrs. Obama said. The new initiative aims at assuring that all civilian physicians have access to information on those issues.

“Everyone is stepping up,” Mrs. Obama said while praising the ongoing work of researchers at the colleges involved in the initiative.  She said the will to help veterans is strong and goes beyond Veterans Day parades and rallies on Fort Bragg.  Obama said the “hidden wounds” faced by many veterans are the “most difficult struggle they will face.”  She said it was imperative for the nation’s physicians to understand the mental health challenges involved.  “Mere words and anecdotes don’t do any of this justice,” she said.

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MLK & Healthcare Reform

Monday, January 30th, 2012

A recent byline article in Forbes magazine by Carolyn McClanahan, M.D., CFP, raises many issues about healthcare in the year 2012.  According to McClanahan “The New England Journal of Medicine’s (NEJM) article on the fate of healthcare reform in 2012 greatly saddens the optimist in me. It discusses four important events, and I’ll share my “simplistic view” of these events:

“State legislatures getting in gear to fill their role assigned by the ACA.  As I’ve discussed previously, we have a complicated healthcare system which is expensive and inefficient.  Instead of simplifying, each state will implement or delay implementing the law based solely on their political interest.  This is not productive.”

“The second event is the Supreme Court’s ruling on the legality of the ACA in May. It is possible that the entire law could be struck down, (albeit unlikely).  If this scenario plays out, we will have wasted billions implementing parts of the law to date.  Another more likely scenario is the law will be upheld but the mandate that everyone purchase health insurance be thrown out.  This would severely weaken the law because people will only buy insurance when they are sick.  There will still be a requirement that insurance companies have to sell insurance to everyone regardless of health status.  This is not financially feasible.  Most likely, the law will stand, but who really knows?”

“The third key event is the deadline for states to apply for federal grants to operate their health insurance exchange.  State who don’t apply will either have to cede control of the exchanges to the federal government or pay for the cost of implementation themselves.  State governors and legislatures against the ACA, like my home state of Florida, risk turning away resources and having more of the federal government running the show.  Talk about the law of unintended consequences.”

“The fourth key date is the election in November.  If President Obama wins re-election, implementation will continue.  If he loses, the winner will have a difficult time repealing the law unless the Republicans can win 60 seats in the Senate.  So what is their plan?  Have everyone drag their feet on implementation or do a half-baked job.  Wouldn’t it be nice if instead they came up with a good plan to fix the parts that are not working?  Simplify and clean up the mess of the insurance part of the law and implement with speed and clarity the good parts like preventive care initiatives, rebuilding our primary care workforce, and improving our ability to handle large disasters.”

A similar viewpoint was expressed by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said that access to healthcare is the next civil rights frontier.  According to Sebelius, “On Martin Luther King Day, it is easy to congratulate ourselves on our progress in moving beyond segregated schools, lunch counters and drinking fountains. The hard question is this: what injustices do we still accept that should, in fact, be intolerable?  Surely Dr. King would find the next civil rights frontier in healthcare, with nearly 50 million uninsured, almost 45,000 deaths annually due to lack of insurance, and more than half of all personal bankruptcies linked to illness and medical bills.”

“While the Affordable Care Act will bring improvements, such as decreasing the ranks of the uninsured, supporting community health centers, and investing in prevention, it leaves many gaps. At least 23 million people will still be uninsured in 2019. Tens of millions will be underinsured, one serious illness away from financial ruin. Most people who suffer medical bankruptcy had private insurance before getting sick. And medical bankruptcy is a cruel double whammy. Already beset with pain, anxiety and fear – due to serious illness – families find themselves financially devastated.  This doesn’t happen in other industrialized countries, which have high-quality health systems that cover everyone.”

As a department, we are committed to ensuring that all Americans achieve health equity by eliminating disparities and doing what we can to improve the health of all groups, including the poor and underserved,” Sebelius said. “One of the most important ways we are doing this is through our new health care law, the Affordable Care Act.”

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Medicare Times Are a Changing

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Baby boomers may not like it — and whoever wins the White House this year — but the Medicare that our parents knew and love is destined to change. And it’ll be like it or lump it.

With more than 1.5 million baby boomers enrolling in Medicare every year, the program’s future is one of the most crucial economic issues for anyone who currently is 50 or older. Healthcare costs are the most erratic part of retirement expenses, and Medicare remains a great deal for retirees, who often get benefits worth significantly more than the payroll taxes they paid while working.  “People would like to have what they used to have.  What they don’t seem to understand is that it’s already changed,” said Gail Wilensky, a former Medicare administrator. “Medicare as we have known it is not part of our future.”

Consider these numbers.  Medicare’s giant trust fund for inpatient care is expected to run out of money in 2024.  When that happens, the program will collect only enough payroll taxes to pay 90 percent of benefits.  Additionally, researchers estimate that as much as one-fifth and even two-thirds of the more than $500 billion that Medicare now spends every year is spent on treatments and procedures of little or no benefit to patients.

Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), chairman of the House Finance Committee, is leading the charge on changing Medicare.  Ryan’s current proposals will not impact people now 55 or older would not have to make any changes.  But how would it work?  Would it save taxpayers’ dollars?  Would it shift costs to retirees, who are least able to afford it?   Will Congress ultimately end traditional Medicare?  These questions are still waiting for answers.  “I’m not sure anybody has come up with a formula on this that makes people comfortable,” said health economist Marilyn Moon, who formerly served as a trustee overseeing Medicare finances.

The White House’s preference is to keep the existing structure of Medicare while “twisting the dials” to control spending, said Medicare trustee, economist Robert Reischauer of the Urban Institute think tank.

Ryan’s original approach would have put 100 percent of future retirees into private insurance.  His most recent plan, written with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), would keep traditional Medicare as an option, competing with private plans.

Writing for AARP, Ricardo Alonzo Zaldiver says that, “This could mean more Medicare recipients joining private insurance plans (currently, only about 25 percent of Medicare recipients are in private ‘Medicare Advantage” plans, while the other three-quarters participate in the traditional, government-run Medicare program).  A new voucher-for-private-Medicare plan would be available to anyone currently under 55.

“It could also mean keeping the existing Medicare structure but making certain tweaks to control spending.  Under President Obama’s healthcare overhaul, the Independent Payment Advisory Board could force Medicare cuts to service providers if costs rise above certain levels and Congress fails to act.  Obama has said he’ll veto any plan to cut Medicare benefits without raising taxes on the wealthy.  During failed budget negotiations last summer, he indicated a willingness to gradually raise the Medicare eligibility age to 67, revamp co-payments and deductibles in ways that would raise costs for retirees, and cut payments to drug makers.  ‘For the 76 million baby boomers signing up over the next couple of decades, it will pay to be watching.’”  President Obama has promised that he will veto any plan to cut Medicare benefits without raising taxes on the wealthy.

The Chicago Sun-Times offers this sage advice: “Fix Medicare, ignore scare talk.”  According to writer Steve Huntley, “I’ve contributed to Medicare every year of its existence. Yet, it’s a myth that seniors have paid the costs of their Medicare services, as demonstrated by the research of economists Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane of the Urban Institute think tank.  Their study showed that a two-income couple earning $89,000 a year would pay $114,000 in Medicare taxes during their careers but could expect to receive $355,000 in medical care in retirement. They could get prescriptions, doctor visits and hospital services valued at three times their contribution to Medicare.

“Medicare combined with Medicaid and Social Security add up to an entitlement time bomb –  they’ll consume all tax revenues by 2052, according to a Heritage Foundation analysis –  for the people who’ll be stuck with the bill: working Americans.  In 1950, there were 16 taxpaying workers for each retiree; by the time the baby boomers all retire, there will be two workers for each retiree. Entitlement reform has to happen.”

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States to Determine Their Own ACA Coverage Levels

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

The Obama administration averted a potentially vicious lobbying battle over the medical benefits insurers must cover under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) when it handed the decision to the states.  The ruling gives states the power to set coverage levels for the policies uninsured people will purchase through exchanges, starting in 2014.  Business groups will make a case for a narrow set of benefits to save costs while consumer advocates want expanded coverage.  The decision shifts the issue to the states and away from the White House, and lets President Barack Obama say he’s giving governors and legislatures greater flexibility to confront rising medical costs and control changes the 2010 healthcare law is bringing to insurance markets.

“Obama has taken all the grief he can stand over healthcare,” said Erik Gordon, a business professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  “He doesn’t want it to give the Republicans any more political ammunition.  He is passing the hot potato to the states.”

“This is significantly more state-flexible and friendly than many would have expected,” said Alan Weil, head of the National Academy for State Heath Policy. What’s to guarantee that the state’s choice of a benchmark plan will be affordable?” asked National Retail Federation Vice President Neil Trautwein.  If coverage is unaffordable today, this doesn’t change the equation.”

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would have to provide “strong oversight and enforcement” of the benefit standards as the states implement them.  “It will be important to ensure that adequate coverage across all 10 required benefit categories is provided — marking an improvement over many plans offered today,” he said.  Giving states greater flexibility to determine necessary benefits was perceived as an attempt to defuse criticism that the health reform law gives the federal government too much control over the healthcare system.  A longtime advocate for federal health reform, Pollack also expressed reservations.  “We understand the inclination to balance flexibility, comprehensiveness of coverage, and cost,” he said. “However, flexibility must yield to reliable, comprehensive coverage of benefits for consumers.  It is essential that HHS provide strong oversight and enforcement.”

Under the revised guidelines, state legislature must either set coverage levels in line with widely subscribed small- business plans in their communities, or tie them to benefits included in their state employees’ health plan, federal plans or the largest commercial managed-care plan in the state.  Generally, health plans for small businesses, state employees and federal workers “cover similar services,” including doctors’ visits, hospitalization and outpatient mental health, according to a study conducted by HHS.  Discrepancies arise in areas such as prescription drugs.  While they’re covered as a basic benefit by all government employee plans, only 84 percent of small business plans cover them.  Others require additional premiums.  Small business plans also rarely cover dental care, acupuncture, bariatric surgery and hearing aids, unless states require it.

According to Forbes magazine’s sba.com column, “At a first glance, this seems like it might be a step in the right direction for individuals and small business owners.  However, that is not necessarily the case.  It seems as though the new idea comes with a wide array of new problems.  First, while the new policy will give states flexibility, it imposes more benefit mandates.  The new policy lists 10 ‘essential health benefits’ that the state MUST provide.  Some of these essential benefits are prescription drugs, preventative care, doctor and hospital services, and maternity care.  The new policy allows the states to designate a state-wide ‘benchmark’ health insurance plan, setting the minimum standard of care.  All insurers would then have the ability to change their insurance plans as long as the coverage provided benefits of the same or greater value.  The new ‘more flexible’ plan still seems very rigid and regimented.  Additionally, the new plan would lead to higher-cost insurance premiums, not lower.

“Another long-standing issue with Obama’s idea is that individuals are not clear on what services and benefits are expected to be provided as a minimum.  Instead of clearing up this confusion and spelling out what exactly would be required, Obama has simply put that responsibility on the states – giving them the ‘flexibility’ to design their plans.

“While it may look like Obama is responding to his opponents’ remarks about his previous plan forcing health insurance standards on states, it seems as though this policy change still accomplishes his goals – just through a different means.  Obama can continue to shape and reshape his ideals; however it will be up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the government can require Americans to buy health insurance at all.”

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Berwick Laments Washington, D.C., Cynicism About ACA

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Dr. Donald Berwick, who recently left his job as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) because the Senate refused to confirm his nomination, struck back at his critics who had accused the pediatrician of advocating healthcare rationing.

“The true rationers are those who impede improvement, who stand in the way of change, and who thereby force choices that we can avoid through better care,” Berwick said.  “It boggles my mind that the same people who cry ‘foul’ about rationing an instant later argue to reduce healthcare benefits for the needy, to defund crucial programs of care and prevention, and to shift thousands of dollars of annual costs to people — elders, the poor, the disabled – who are least able to bear them.”

Although Berwick didn’t specifically accuse Senate Republicans, it was clear that he was referring to proposals to drastically slash the nation’s budget deficit by capping federal funding to states for Medicaid.  That proposal could cut billions of dollars that critics have said would lead to cuts in benefits.

During his 16-month tenure at CMS, Berwick studiously avoided using the term “rationing”.  Now, the gloves have come off.  “When the 17 million American children who live in poverty cannot get the immunizations and blood tests they need, that is rationing.  When disabled Americans lack the help to keep them out of institutions and in their homes and living independently, that is rationing.  When tens of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries are thrown out of coverage, and when millions of seniors are threatened with the withdrawal of preventive care or cannot afford their medications, and when every single one of us lives under the sword of Damocles that, if we get sick, we lose health insurance, that is rationing.”

Berwick also jabbed at those who inaccurately said the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) included so-called “death panels.”  According to Berwick, “If you really want to talk about ‘death panels,’ let’s think about what happens if we cut back programs of needed, life-saving care for Medicaid beneficiaries and other poor people in America.  Maybe a real death panel is a group of people who tell healthcare insurers that is it OK to take insurance away from people because they are sick or are at risk for becoming sick.”

Going even further, Berwick said that the ACA needs more advocates supporting the law. “The law is just a framework,” Berwick said.  “Healthcare in America can improve and it can become sustainable without a tremendous amount of community involvement.”  President Obama has an important role in this, as do healthcare consumers who must push healthcare leaders to rethink the way they work.  “Increasingly, though, that advocacy role is falling to physicians, nurses, and hospital executives.  We need their voices, because they know the system can’t go on the way it is,” he said.

“I think that a lot of the public concern about that law and a lot of the congressional criticism is ill-founded and based on myths,’’ Berwick said.  “I think any chance to air publicly, with conversation and even debate, matters of such concern is healthy.’’

While contemplating what to do next in his career, Berwick said “I’m excited by how much is in motion in healthcare right now.  It’s an incredibly interesting and promising time with many risks, and I want to stay thoroughly engaged in reshaping American healthcare into the high-performance, sustainable system I know it can be.”

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Will Cuts in Healthcare Save the Federal Budget?

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Healthcare budget and policy experts are waiting for Washington to eventually face the difficult task of finding even more savings to cut the deficit.  They anticipate that health spending — which makes up more than 20 percent of the federal budget — will be targeted.  Some healthcare leaders are already planning to redirect a debate they’re expecting in 2013.  They hope to prevent spending from being shifted from one part of the system to another.  Jack Lewin, chief executive of the American College of Cardiology, said that proposals to address the basic causes of high healthcare costs have mostly been ignored in Washington.

“We talk about them all the time, but there’s nothing that we’re doing in any of these proposals to get that done,” Lewin said.  “What we would like to get on the table that’s not there is a paradigm shift in thinking about how you control costs.”  According to Thomas Scully, a former Medicare administrator under President George W. Bush and now a senior counsel at Alston & Bird, an Atlanta-based law firm, “There’s going to be a Round Two (of cuts), but after the election, because of the economic pressures exerted by the national debt.”

Proposals include reducing payments to providers; asking beneficiaries to pay more for coverage; and raising the Medicare eligibility age.  The healthcare interests that might take another hit in 2013 want to start planning now.  Several key healthcare leaders – the majority of whom have been through other cost-cutting campaigns — say efforts to reduce spending too often transfer costs from the federal budget and individuals, insurers, doctors and hospitals.

These worries have caused “people from dramatically different quarters to start thinking about what to do to get their hands around this” and redirect the conversation, said Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans.  “I’ve been talking to a range of stakeholders about how to work together…to urge policymakers to look at what’s already out there now and build on it.”

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is one element of this debate.  Administration officials and other supporters of the law say it will help drive down costs through initiatives designed to promote primary care, emphasize on preventive medicine, study treatments to evaluate their effectiveness and rate hospitals and other providers on quality.  Other healthcare authorities counter that the law will not strongly impact costs because its reforms are small and will mature incrementally.

Additionally, the law saves money by cutting Medicare payments to hospitals and other providers; it also places some unwelcome standards on health plans.  For example, insurers cannot reject people with pre-existing conditions, must justify rate increases of 10 percent or more, and send rebates to consumers if they don’t spend a minimum of 80 percent of premiums on healthcare.

Writing in the Washington Post, Drew Altman and Larry Levitt – both with the Kaiser Family Foundation — note that “Healthcare costs are driving people into poverty.  Indeed, if the burden of healthcare expenses were not taken into account, then 10 million fewer people would have been classified as poor.  One of the biggest jumps in poverty under the new method is among people with private health insurance.  We tend to think of such people, most of whom get coverage through their jobs, as being better equipped to handle the cost of getting sick.  But even those who are insured are increasingly vulnerable to high healthcare costs, in no small part because, as costs keep rising, employers have shifted more of the burden onto workers.  The share of employees with an insurance deductible of $1,000 or more for single coverage has tripled in the past five years.  The trend is especially strong among small businesses, where half of workers faced a deductible of at least $1,000 in 2011.  For those on the edge of poverty, a big medical bill could send you over it — even if you have insurance.  The effect of healthcare costs is particularly acute for the elderly, with the proportion of seniors living in poverty increasing from nine percent under the official census measure to 16 percent under the alternative measure.  An astounding 49 percent of seniors are living at or below twice the poverty level, a threshold at which people are still considered low-income (up from 35 percent under the official method).

“It’s up to us to get really serious with the agenda so that, when the time comes after the election, we are prepared to offer serious proposals that deal with costs and that do not impair the quality of care,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of the consumer group Families USA.

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Can Marilyn Tavenner Save Medicare?

Monday, December 5th, 2011

President Barack Obama’s choice of Marilyn Tavenner as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – to replace Dr. Donald Berwick, whose recess appointment was set to expire at the end of the year – is more likely to survive the Senate confirmation process relatively unscathed.

A Harvard-educated pediatrician, Berwick won praise and the backing of major healthcare groups for his academic work, which focused on cutting the cost of care while improving quality and patient experience.  Republicans took exception to his praise of Britain’s National Health Service as an “example” for the United States to emulate.  Others accused him of supporting “rationing” healthcare services, a claim Berwick rejects.  “Every bone in my body, as a physician, even as a person, is to get everything (patients) want and need and to help them at every step,” he said.  “I have gone to the mat to get a last-ditch bone marrow transplant for a child with leukemia…and they are telling me I’m rationing?  They haven’t met me.”

White House officials said, “Before entering government services, Tavenner spent nearly 35 years working with health care providers in significantly increasing levels of responsibility, including almost 20 years in nursing, three years as a hospital CEO, and 10 years in various senior executive-level positions for Hospital Corporation of America.”

According to Ezra Klein, “Tavenner’s healthcare experience lies much more in management than policy.  Former colleagues describe her as a patient-centered manager, a hands-on medical professional equally comfortable in the board room and the emergency room.  And in contrast to Berwick, Tavenner isn’t associated with a grand vision for health reform, or a particular policy agenda for Medicare and Medicaid.  ‘With Marilyn, you present the information, then she makes a decision, and you move on,’ said Patrick Finnerty, who served as Virginia’s Medicaid director under Tavenner.  ‘She doesn’t make promises she can’t keep.  There are differences of opinions, and she would try to work through those.  She’s straight with folks but always respectful.’”

Tavenner started her career as a nurse at Virginia hospitals owned by the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).  Tavenner met with success, rising from chief nursing officer to CEO.  In 2004, she was again promoted to HCA’s president of outpatient services, her first national position with the firm.  She resigned two years later, when then-Virginia Governor Tim Kaine tapped her to head the state’s Health and Human Resources department.

Tavenner has already won the American Medical Association’s (AMA) backing. “We have worked extensively with her in her role as deputy administrator, and she has been fair, knowledgeable and open to dialogue,” AMA President Peter Carmel said.  “With all the changes and challenges facing the Medicare and Medicaid programs, CMS needs stable leadership, and Marilyn Tavenner has the skills and experience to provide it.”

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said that the panel would thoroughly scrutinize Tavenner, but did not say he opposes her nomination.  Despite Hatch’s mild comment, Tavenner is expected to face some difficult questioning because Senate Republicans have not overtly endorsed her.  According to a Republican healthcare lobbyist, “I can’t imagine a lot of support for her,” noting that the high-profile CMS role “always gets sucked into the controversy of the day.”  Ultimately, Tavenner is likely to be confirmed for the CMS post.

Tavenner is widely seen as a pragmatic administrator who will not rock the CMS boat. “The only way to stabilize costs without cutting benefits or provider fees is to improve care to those with the highest health care costs,” she said.  Tavenner also said she opposed Republican efforts to turn Medicaid into a block grant that would limit the amount of federal funding states can receive for the program.  “That approach would simply dump the problem on states and force them to dump patients, benefits or make provider cuts or all the above,” she said.  Tavenner “brings continuity in terms of implementing the mission,” said Len Nichols, director of George Mason University’s Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics.

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Half of Americans Support Obamacare Repeal

Monday, November 28th, 2011

A recent Gallup poll found that 47 percent of Americans support the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), compared with the 42 percent who want the law kept in place.  The remaining 11 percent offered no opinion.  In an ironic twist, the survey also determined that half of Americans believe the federal government has a responsibility to make certain that all citizens have healthcare coverage, compared with 46 percent who do not.

“Views on this issue are highly partisan, with Republicans strongly in favor of repeal and the large majority of Democrats wanting the law kept in place,” according to Gallup.

Republicans claim that the healthcare law is unconstitutional because of the individual mandate that requires all Americans to purchase health insurance.  Approximately eight in 10 Republicans think Congress should repeal the healthcare law, including 54 percent who want the entire law thrown out.  Democrats have an opposing view: 60 percent support keeping the healthcare law as is.  Independents are split.

Fully 80 percent of Republicans support repeal, while a mere 10 percent support the law.  Democrats, not surprisingly support the healthcare law by 64 – 21 percent.  The intensity of the issue on both sides is also striking.  Among those who favor repeal of the so-called Obamacare, 66 percent say it is a “very important” issue.  Fully 60 percent of the ACA’s supporters described it is a “very important” issue.

Another finding of the survey is that 56 percent of respondents prefer an insurance system run by private companies; while 39 percent prefer a government-run system.

Writing for CBS News, Jennifer De Pinto says that “Even though overall support for the healthcare law is mixed, majorities have favored some individual elements of the law, including requiring health insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on their parents’ healthcare plan until age 26.  However, the provision that requires all Americans get health insurance is not as popular.  A CNN/ORC Poll conducted this past summer found 54 percent of Americans oppose that provision.”

In a poll taken by the Kaiser Foundation, 34 percent said they view the law either “very” (12 percent) or “somewhat” (22 percent) favorably while 51 percent saw it in either as “somewhat” (20 percent) or “very” (31 percent) unfavorably.  In April 2010, the favorable view of the law was 50 percent only one time (July 2010).  With the exception of the October dip, support has generally been between 39 and 43 percent since the start of this year.  Even as the overall bill remains consistently unpopular, parts of it — including the individual mandate, which would require all Americans to carry health insurance — are viewed more positively.

Even if the Supreme Court overturns the ACA or it is repealed, President Barack Obama said that the healthcare law he signed in 2010 represents “a reform that will finally make sure that nobody goes bankrupt in America just because they get sick.”  Obama said the law assures coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions and is the kind of change he promised during the 2008 presidential campaign.  “Everything we fought for in the last election is now at stake in the next election,” Obama said.  “The very core of what this country stands for is on the line.”

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