CMS Pitches New Value-Based Care Model, Medicare Spending Rises Fast
A primary care-focused value-based care model is coming, and Medicare spending is on track to skyrocket.
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By - In policy news this week, CMS will test a new value-based care model in eight states. The model offers participants additional revenue to improve their primary care services. Meanwhile, research from KFF shows just how fast Medicare spending may grow.
VA Location Promises No Staff Cuts Amid EHR Budget Issue
Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center will not cut staff to ameliorate a budget deficit after an earlier communication indicated that some staff may have been on the chopping block. The VA’s Northwest regional director, Teresa Boyd, shared that the hospital was not cutting existing positions but would elect not to fill vacant positions for the time being to help shrink its budget deficit. This comes after the director of Mann-Grandstaff, Robert Fischer, informed supervisors last month that the hospital would have to reduce staffing by 15%. READ MORE.
Representatives Reintroduce the Expanded Telehealth Access Act
Representatives Mikie Sherrill and Diana Harshbarger are bringing the Expanded Telehealth Access Act back to the floor with a bipartisan group of colleagues in an attempt to ensure Medicare beneficiaries’ access to virtual care in the future.
“The use of telehealth services during the pandemic demonstrated technology’s pivotal role in improving health equity. For vulnerable populations, especially those with compromised immune systems or in areas far from a provider, this type of access to health care can be a lifeline,” said Representative Sherrill in a press release. READ MORE.
Purdue’s Sackler Family Granted Legal Immunity
Last week, a federal appeals court granted the Sackler family legal immunity from civil cases in exchange for a $6 billion payment to thousands of plaintiffs. The former owners of Purdue Pharma were sued for falsely marketing their opioid OxyContin which contributed to the addiction and overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Going forward, the family will be protected from civil legal action involving their role in the sale of OxyContin, which could save them from personal bankruptcy. READ MORE.
Medicare Spending Rising Fast
A recent KFF study found that Medicare benefit payments will more than double in the next decade. Data from the past 20 years showed that payments grew from $200 billion to $744 billion. Researchers now estimate that spending will more than double in the next ten years to $1.7 trillion. The increase is partly due to the aging portion of beneficiaries expected to live into their 80s and 90s. READ MORE.
CMS Value-Based Care Model to Launch in Eight States
CMS will test the Making Care Primary model in eight states with hopes of improving patient care and increasing value-based care uptake for primary care organizations.
“The Making Care Primary Model represents an unprecedented investment in our nation’s primary care network and brings us closer to our goal of reaching 100 percent of Traditional Medicare beneficiaries and the vast majority of Medicaid beneficiaries in accountable care arrangements, including advanced primary care, by 2030,” CMS Deputy Administrator and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Director Liz Fowler said in the press release. READ MORE.
