The Department of Health and Human Services released rules March 31 for creation of new medical groups called Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs. The proposed regulation offers financial incentives to healthcare networks that demonstrate they can save money while meeting certain quality standards.
Will states opt for the BHP? Many states are likely to give the plan serious consideration, for both financial and policy reasons.
With the inauguration of 18 new governors, attention shifts to the critical choices that states must make as they implement healthcare reform. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states must have health insurance Exchanges established by January 1, 2014.
As much as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was intended to overhaul the nation’s healthcare industry, its impact is being felt well beyond the medical sector.
A federal judge in Virginia ruled that the new requirement that all Americans carry health insurance is unconstitutional. The decision virtually guarantees that a central plank of the Affordable Care Act faces months—if not years—of uncertainty.
While the Republican victories in the midterm election signal a dramatic turn in the political winds for President Obama, this is unlikely to result in major substantive changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) over the next two years.
What constitutes medical care? The answer to that question lies at the heart of one of the first major implementation decisions under the Affordable Care Act.