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A number of states have used the flexibility of the Medicaid program to develop innovative payment and delivery systems designed to coordinate and improve quality of care. This brief, based on site visits from November 2009 through March 2010, highlights care coordination and related efforts in five states: Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington state.
Health care providers can receive Medicare and Medicaid payment incentives when they adopt electronic health records and demonstrate their "meaningful use." Additionally, states must establish a website by 2014 for Medicaid beneficiaries to electronically enroll and renew coverage.
The new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) seeks to test new health care payment and service delivery models that can potentially enhance quality of care for beneficiaries while reducing costs.
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions of uninsured adults and children will gain eligibility for Medicaid or health coverage through new health insurance Exchanges beginning in 2014.
The Affordable Care Act aims to promote higher quality care in part by rewarding – and eventually requiring – the reporting of certain quality measures. Previous efforts suggest that public reporting can add significant value.
In recent years, awareness of the patient’s important role in managing his or her own care has been steadily growing—fed not only by such trends as the proliferation of health information on the internet and direct-to-consumer advertising, but also by the emerging science of patient-centered decision making.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to move the health care system away from an episodic, fee-for-service approach and towards a coordinated, preventive model of care delivery.
Recent legislation, including the stimulus package and the new health reform law, invests substantial funds in health information technology which can help prevent medical errors and improve the quality and value of care. However, questions have been raised about the cost of implementation and personal privacy considerations.
Residents of rural communities face unique health care challenges, including fewer health care providers, higher rates of chronic disease, and lower adoption rates of health information technology.
As part of an ongoing series to explore what is in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, this May 7 briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation examines how the reform law affects Medicare.
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