Reform implementation, Medicaid and sequestration are three key issues facing the healthcare industry in the wake of President Barack Obama\u2019s re-election, analysts, consultants and healthcare leaders said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In the remaining seven weeks of the year, the president and the 112th Congress have a slew of complicated matters to address, including several pending regulations to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the 2%, across-the-board Medicare cuts scheduled to take effect next year; and the anticipated 27% reimbursement cut in Medicare payments to physicians after Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wild card in this is sequestration,\u201d said Steve Valentine, president of healthcare consulting firm the Camden Group. \u201cIf you listen to enough people talk, it looks like this Congress will pass it to the next Congress and say: you deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Mezey, professor of political science at DePaul University in Chicago, echoed that sentiment. Mezey speculated that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)\u2014who was willing to compromise with the president on last year\u2019s contentious debt deal but met fierce resistance in his own party\u2014might be considering his own job security. \u201cBoehner may give Obama a wink and a nod,\u201d as if to say: \u201cLet me get re-elected as speaker and see what we can do afterward,\u201d Mezey said.<\/p>\n
Now the administration\u2019s focus shifts to implementation and rule-writing, which would have come to a halt if former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had won, Mezey said. Instead, the law\u2019s regulations will move forward. \u201cBy the time his second term is over,\u201d Mezey said of the president, \u201cit will be fully implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the administration continues to implement the law, hospitals will pay particular attention to the law\u2019s provision for states to expand Medicaid. \u201cThe expansions are critically important to all hospitals,\u201d said Chip Kahn, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals. \u201cThe whole point of health reform from our standpoint was the expansion of coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Medicaid expansion in the states is also a top concern for the American Hospital Association, said Richard Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the group that represents about 5,000 U.S. hospitals. Umbdenstock said between the states that are willing to expand Medicaid and those resisting it are undecided states that might have individual conversations about the issue with HHS officials. \u201cWe want to work with the department and state associations to provide expansion, but that will require a certain amount of transparency from HHS,\u201d Umbdenstock said.<\/p>\n
While most agree that Obama\u2019s win signals a victory for the healthcare law, some contend that Congress will still push back on certain provisions in the law. Bob Moffit, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said it\u2019s likely Congress will try to strike down provisions such the medical-device tax, the Independent Payment Advisory Board and the employer mandate for coverage. \u201cWhen they passed the Affordable Care Act, they didn\u2019t solve anything,\u201d Moffit said. \u201cThey just initiated the first stage in a 100 years\u2019 war in health policy,\u201d he continued. \u201cAll of these things are inherently controversial themselves\u2014each one is a big issue. You will not see this idea of, \u2018the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
The AHA\u2019s Umbdenstock said that even though implementation is now the top priority, the organization is willing to work on tweaking parts of the 2010 law on Capitol Hill, including repeal of the IPAB. But more important than working to overturn unpopular provisions of the law is working to examine issues the law didn\u2019t address, Umbdenstock explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat can we do to broaden the conversation around advanced-care services?\u201d Umbdenstock said, citing one example. \u201cCertainly at the top of our list is always medical liability reform,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, health plans will continue to see their margins reduced in the continued implementation of the medical-loss ratio, which requires plans to spend either 80% or 85%\u2014depending on whether they are a small-group or large-group plan\u2014of premium dollars on medical costs. The Camden Group\u2019s Valentine said the industry can expect to see these health plans acquire more retail businesses, such as durable medical equipment businesses, eyeglass companies and hearing-aid companies as a way for plans to drive revenue. \u201cLet\u2019s buy retail healthcare businesses that we can make a margin on and it comes out of the 85%,\u201d Valentine said. \u201cIt\u2019s a diversification strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
IDAHO INSURANCE AGENCY
\nPaul King and Charlotte Hildebrandt
\n1650 Albright Ln #101
\nBoise, Idaho 83709
\n208-377-7101<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reform implementation, Medicaid and sequestration are three key issues facing the healthcare industry in the wake of President Barack Obama\u2019s re-election, analysts, consultants and healthcare leaders said Wednesday. In the remaining seven weeks of the year, the president and the 112th Congress have a slew of complicated matters to address, including several pending regulations to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n