The government could use
Medicare to test new cost-saving, quality improving healthcare reform
efforts, but it would have to give the program more leverage and
flexibility, panelists testified at a recent Senate roundtable
conference.
The Senate Finance
Committee met with more than a dozen representatives from various
fields of healthcare on Tuesday to discuss possible approaches to
healthcare reform. One popular idea at the conference involved
rethinking the way the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
approach patient care. According to panelist Glenn Steele, president
of Geisinger Health Systems, giving CMS latitude to implement a
patient-focused model, and the flexibility to test and evaluate new
measures without having to first undergo a time-consuming
demonstration project could help speed along the reform process.
Former CMS Administrator
Mark McClellan told the committee that some upfront costs would be
needed, but he added that that initial investment should yield
demonstrable cost savings and quality improvements. Senate Finance
Committee ranking member Charles Grassley (R-IA) asked the panel for
some guarantee that the reform proposals would not simply pile on
additional costs to the system, noting that he has still “got to
get some comfort with” some of the reform proposals.”