Care Coordination
There is not much evidence yet that programs designed to encourage better coordination of care between doctors and hospitals have been broadly effective, he said. Tests of new payment models for hospitals and other health providers under Medicare, the government-run health program for the elderly, are inconclusive and haven’t yet been expanded.
“There was a vision of things in here that were going to revolutionize the way care is delivered,” Holtz-Eakin said. “That’s an enormous disruption and it’s not obvious that those things are working. So, it’s still vulnerable.”
The debate expected to gain energy as the next election draws near was framed during the president’s remarks on the law yesterday, and the Republican response.
Obama called on Democrats to embrace the law in their campaigns, and for Republicans to propose practical changes that would improve it.
The House Speaker, Republican John Boehner of Ohio, and the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, responded by accusing the law of causing chaos in the health-care system. They questioned Obama’s enrollment figures, which included no information on how many of the 8 million in exchange plans previously had insurance or paid their first premium, the final step to sign up.