Washington Notes

January, 2007

Ideas for Policy Reform Aired At Senate Health Committee Hearing

On January 10, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee began the search for common ground in finding a solution to the nation's growing health care crisis, even as senators were told by witnesses that as many as two dozen states are striking out on their own to create programs to help provide health insurance coverage for their residents.

By the end of the two-hour hearing, the committee had heard numerous ideas for reform, from speeding adoption of information technology to removing the financial incentives from payment systems, so that they do not continue to reward unnecessary and inefficient care.

Chairman Rangel Outlines New Priorities For Ways-Means Oversight of Health Care

The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee plans to conduct extensive oversight of Medicare in the 110th Congress, including examining the program's prescription drug benefit and overpayments to providers, according to full committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.). The Ways and Means Health subcommittee would conduct oversight on just about every aspect of Medicare, from the Part D drug benefit to managed care plans to quality improvement among providers. The health subcommittee will examine "major Medicare programs to ensure efficient use of resources, quality, and access for Medicare beneficiaries,"

House GOP Fails in Its Efforts to Force Vote on Association Health Plans (AHPs) Proposal

Early in the new session of Congress, the House Republican leadership made the first of what could be many attempts over the next few weeks to highlight the need for small businesses to be able to pool resources and purchase health insurance as a group. However, they were unsuccessful in their efforts to force House action on a bill allowing small businesses to provide health insurance to their workers through association health plans (AHPs).

Over 150 Employer-Based Performance Pay Systems Now in Operation, GE Executive Says

There are now more than 150 private sector pay-for-performance (P4P) health care programs nationwide, with about 80 percent of hospitals and physicians involved with them in some way, an executive with General Electric said Dec. 15. Faced with mounting health care costs similar to those affecting public health care programs such as Medicare, as well as interested in improving health care quality, employers are increasing their P4P programs rapidly, Robert Galvin, director of global health care for GE, said at a briefing on the issue sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform. Galvin said employers have become increasingly interested in P4P programs because they realize companies must not only work to control rising health care costs, but also improve the quality of care provided their workers.

CMS Readying for New Bonus Program For Physicians, Acting Administrator Says

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is beginning work on a bonus payment program for physicians that will start mid-year and be part of the agency's focus on provider quality initiatives. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2005 requires the bonus program to begin in July for providers under the physician fee schedule who report quality data. Physicians who report on measures for services furnished from July 1-Dec. 31, 2007 will receive a bonus in 2008.

SEIU, AARP, Business Roundtable Form Partnership to Press for Health Care Solution

Leaders of the Service Employees International Union, AARP, and the Business Roundtable Jan. 16 announced they have formed a partnership to urge national elected officials to take action to bring about universal health care coverage and longterm financial security.

The organizations' grassroots initiative, named "Divided We Fail," will seek to break the political gridlock and create an environment to hear different approaches, debate them and flesh them out. The program will place its an emphasis on transparency, wellness, and improved information technologies in health care delivery.

HHS Reports Some Gains in Care Quality, But Sees Problems in Prevention, Disparities

The overall quality of health care in the United States is improving, but gains in preventive care lag, and disparities persist for racial minorities and the poor, according to two reports released by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

In the National Healthcare Quality Report (NHCR), the agency said its review of 40 core quality measures found a 3.1 percent increase in the quality of care, which is the same rate of improvement as the previous two years. Preventive treatments and screenings for colorectal cancer, obesity, asthma and diabetes lagged far behind the gains achieved in other areas of preventive medicine, the agency said.

The National Healthcare Disparities Report, a companion report to the NHQR, found that "disparities related to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status still pervade the American health care system."

The National Healthcare Quality Report is available at http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqr06/nhqr06.htm and the National Healthcare Disparities Report is available at http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr06/nhdr06.htm

CMS Announces Education Campaign To Promote Best Practices in Home Care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the start of a national initiative to help home health agencies improve patient care and reduce hospitalizations.

The Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign is a 12-month collaborative effort between home health agencies, quality improvement organizations (QIOs), and other stakeholders, with a goal of reducing the acute-care hospitalization rate across all participating home health agencies (HHAs) by 5 percent over the next year, according to the campaign Web site.

Participation in the program is free. HHAs can register online through the campaign Web site at http://www.homehealthquality.org/hh/.