Research

ObamaCare Created A New National Center To Study Ways To Cut The Costs Of Health Care.  “The Obama administration touts it as a key solution to the nation’s runaway health-care spending: a new national center set up by the 2010 health-care law to test and implement groundbreaking ways to cut costs while improving patient care.” (N.C. Aizenman, “Center For Medicare And Medicaid Innovation Aims To Cut Health-Care Costs,” The Washington Post, 1/26/12)

But Health Care Experts Question The New Center And Its Programs, Pointing To Similar Initiatives  In The Past Forty Years That Have Mostly Failed. “Some health-care experts question how many of these experiments will result in significant savings. They point to a study released by the Congressional Budget Office last week that found that savings were produced in only one of 10 major Medicare demonstration projects tried by administrations since 1967 — all of them similar to initiatives the innovation center has begun.” (N.C. Aizenman, “Center For Medicare And Medicaid Innovation Aims To Cut Health-Care Costs,” The Washington Post, 1/26/12)

• CBO:  “In Nearly Every Program, Spending Was Unchanged Or Increased.” “In nearly every program, spending was either unchanged or increased relative to the spending that would have occurred in the absence of the program, when the fees paid to the participating organizations were considered.” (“Lessons From Medicare’s Demonstration Projects On Disease Management, Care Coordination, And Value-Based Payment,” CBO Director’s Blog, 1/18/12)
• CBO:  “Programs Did Not Achieve Enough Savings To Offset Their Fees.” “Programs in which care managers had substantial direct interaction with physicians and significant in-person interaction with patients were more likely to reduce Medicare spending than other programs. But, on average, even those programs did not achieve enough savings to offset their fees.” (“Lessons From Medicare’s Demonstration Projects On Disease Management, Care Coordination, And Value-Based Payment,” CBO Director’s Blog, 1/18/12)
• CBO:  “On Average, The 34 Programs Had Little Or No Effect On Hospital Admissions.” (“Lessons From Medicare’s Demonstration Projects On Disease Management, Care Coordination, And Value-Based Payment,” CBO Director’s Blog, 1/18/12)

“The Findings Are A Blow To Existing Medicare Projects As Well As A Key Goal Of The Health Care Reform Law.” (Sam Baker, “CBO: Medicare Cost-Cutting Programs Haven’t Worked,” The Hill’s “Health Watch,” 1/18/12)