Medicare Slowdown at Risk: The Imperative of Fixing ACOs

On February 26, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's Campaign to Fix the Debt co-hosted a forum on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to unveil a new report with recommendations for improving how Medicare delivers and pays for services. The event featured remarks by Dr. Patrick Conway, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Participants also included Senator Judd Gregg, former Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; Maya MacGuineas, head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt; Dr. James Weinstein, CEO and President of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health; and Dr. Elliott Fisher, Director of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Two members of the Health Care Transformation Task Force:  -- Chris Dawe, Managing Director, Evolent Health and Susan Winckler, Managing Partner, Leavitt Partners -- also took part.

At the forum, Dr. Weinstein said that the fee-for-service model had failed the country and that we are at a “tipping point.” In a statement, Sen. Gregg was quoted, “Our next step is to put these ideas into action. Doing so will help reduce the financial strain on Medicare and give beneficiaries a role in their care. Both of those steps are crucial to the long-term success of Medicare.”

Click here to read a recap of the event and paper.

Click here to read the full paper.