On Monday, six health care industry groups provided the Obama administration with a 28-page proposal to reduce health care spending through a variety of efforts, including the use of health IT, Politico reports (Budoff Brown, Politico, 6/1).
The groups say their recommendations could save the U.S. $1 trillion to $1.73 trillion over 10 years.
Last month, the groups promised the administration that they would help reduce the annual health care spending growth rate by 1.5 percentage points.
The groups include the:
- Advanced Medical Technology Association;
- America's Health Insurance Plans;
- American Hospital Association;
- American Medical Association;
- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; and
- Service Employees International Union (Young, The Hill, 6/1).
Recommendations
The groups suggested that:
- Improving chronic disease management could save between $350 billion and $850 billion;
- Avoiding duplicate and unnecessary treatments could save $150 billion to $180 billion; and
- Streamlining administrative duties could save as much as $700 billion (Smith, Reuters, 6/1).
In the letter, each group identified its own ways to recoup health care costs.
For example, AHA said it would encourage its members to use a variety of health IT tools, improve care coordination and boost overall efficiency.
Meanwhile, AHIP proposed moving toward a standardized electronic process for claims submissions and payments. The group also said it would create a Web portal to allow health care providers to conduct business with health plans through a single Web site (DoBias, Modern Healthcare, 6/1).
It is unclear how many of the proposals would be enforceable. In a letter accompanying the recommendations, the groups said, "Some of these proposals can be achieved under current law," and the "success of others will depend upon good public policy," adding that "we will work very hard to see them implemented" (Politico, 6/1).
Lawmakers' Reaction
On Monday, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released a statement saying he is "skeptical that these proposals will add up to anywhere near $2 trillion" (Adamy, Wall Street Journal, 6/1). He said, "In the legislative process, proposals rise or fall based on what [the Congressional Budget Office] says about them, and the same will be true here."
House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Dave Camp (R-Mich.) on Monday asked CBO to produce cost-savings estimates for the proposals.
According to CongressDaily, CBO has had difficulty scoring health reform proposals because of the lack of information about real-world application of reform plans, particularly preventive efforts (CongressDaily, 6/2).
The health care groups' letter is available online (.pdf)