Healthcare Digest 4/30: $1 Trillion in Healthcare Savings Possible -- Maybe -- Probably Not

One trillion dollars in savings you say?

I don’t know, guys. Is anyone else doing a better job of keeping up with the various amounts we’ll either save or owe thanks to the Affordable Care Act and Medicare/Medicaid reform?

The Brookings study referenced in the article I linked to suggests that to see that $1 trillion in savings, we’ll have to do something: “The time to act on these proposals is now. It is time to put a sharp and direct focus on achieving both better health and cost savings.”

What are these somethings? Reforms designed to reduce healthcare spending by improving care and promoting value-based payments. And if there’s anything we’re all particularly great at, it’s doing New Things in order to correct the Old Things we’d been doing previously. (How’s that diet going? Just asking.)

“To avoid short-term disruptions, our systematic framework involves a clear path that builds on existing reforms in the public and private sector [and] supports transitional steps to assist providers.”

When someone hauls out “systemic” and “reforms” and “sector” — you know he means business. Reform: achieved!

Tuesday Headlines:

Now With 78% Fewer Footnotes and Circular References!: “The first draft was as mind-numbing and complex as tax forms. Now the Obama administration is unveiling a simplified application for health insurance benefits under the federal health care overhaul.” [Boston Herald]

But We Were SO CLOSE: “State and local governments can expect ever-widening budget gaps through 2060, as rising healthcare costs for both citizens and public employees surpass recent improvements in their revenue, the Government Accountability Office said on Monday.” [Reuters]

Your Daily Dose of Bird Flu Horror: “The outbreak of the new H7N9 bird flu in China, which the WHO called “an unusually dangerous virus for humans,” should be an incentive for a renewed look at infection control procedures and pandemic readiness, which includes proper protection of health care staff.” [Sacremento Bee]

Will Electronic Records Cure Health Care?: About as effectively as rhetorical questions, I’d imagine. [Health Data Management]