The government could useMedicare to test new cost-saving, quality improving healthcare reformefforts, but it would have to give the program more leverage andflexibility, panelists testified at a recent Senate roundtableconference.

The Senate FinanceCommittee met with more than a dozen representatives from variousfields of healthcare on Tuesday to discuss possible approaches tohealthcare reform. One popular idea at the conference involvedrethinking the way the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesapproach patient care. According to panelist Glenn Steele, presidentof Geisinger Health Systems, giving CMS latitude to implement apatient-focused model, and the flexibility to test and evaluate newmeasures without having to first undergo a time-consumingdemonstration project could help speed along the reform process.

Former CMS AdministratorMark McClellan told the committee that some upfront costs would beneeded, but he added that that initial investment should yielddemonstrable cost savings and quality improvements. Senate FinanceCommittee ranking member Charles Grassley (R-IA) asked the panel forsome guarantee that the reform proposals would not simply pile onadditional costs to the system, noting that he has still “got toget some comfort with” some of the reform proposals.”