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Medicare Trust Fund Outlook Improves
WASHINGTON -- Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund will be depleted by 2026 -- 2 years later than last year's projection, the program's trustees said Friday in their 2013 annual report.
The improved outlook for the program was attributed to lower spending for most hospital services -- in particular skilled nursing facilities -- and a large assumed impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the 2013 report said.
But trustees were "cautiously optimistic" that the slowdown in health spending that has extended the trust fund's life is here to stay, and not a reflection of the slow economy of the past few years.
"What we're finding is that there's a significant transformation of the private and public sector in terms of how payments are made," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, one of the trustees, said at a news conference here. Reforms like creation of accountable care organizations "are significant changes in care delivery that could in fact make sure that there are significant continued decreases in the underlying health costs."
Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/1aJvIEg
Source: Med Page Today
Patient Care Experience Declines After Private Equity Hospital Acquisitions
January 31st 2025Private equity hospital acquisitions in the US were associated with declines in patient care experience, particularly in overall hospital ratings, willingness to recommend, and staff responsiveness.
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Unlocking Access: Exploring Mental Health Care Among Medicaid Managed Care Enrollees
January 23rd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the January 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to examine the association between quantitative network adequacy standards and mental health care access among adult Medicaid enrollees.
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