Now, following a review of experimental demonstration projects on disease management, care coordination, and value-based payment in Medicare, the Congressional Budget Office reports: “CBO reviewed the outcomes of 10 major demonstrations that have been evaluated by independent researchers. The evaluations show that most programs have not reduced Medicare spending.” Some demonstration projects fared better than others. For instance, programs promoting stronger patient–doctor interaction were more likely to generate savings, but even most projects of this type didn’t break even.
If we knew then what we know now—that the long-term care programs added to healthcare reform to sweeten the budget numbers were unsustainable, and that so-called game changers such as disease management didn’t change the game much at all—it is almost certain that the Affordable Care Act would not have passed through Congress.
via If we knew then what we know now about healthcare reform « The Enterprise Blog.
