Official goals and challenges of U.S. health care reform – A hope for better care, delivery, and costs – Part I

The reforms to healthcare delivery being made by the Affordable Care Act are making an historic attempt to bring its costs under control by improving the quality and efficacy of the system. According to an official fact sheet, among the key reforms being made in this effort are as follows: Rewards for quality  Hospitals – this includes the first Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program of its size, which will give funding to more than 3,500 hospitals across the country based on how much they have improved and whether or not they…

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The impact of healthcare reform legislation on the compensation received by hospital execs

The Obama Administration healthcare reform legislation – which already includes Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services programs for coordinated care and requirement changes for hospitals that are tax-exempt – may also be altering the compensation of hospital leaders. Though this won’t be impacting hospital compensation directly, they may have an indirect impact on salaries from regulation increases and different care delivery models. Director Gary Young of the Northeastern University Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Research looked into the differences that will be seen among non-profit and for-profit hospitals at…

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Mental health experts call for blend of medical and behavioral payments in healthcare reform

Experts in mental health industry are requesting that medical providers such as psychologists take on an important role in health care reform, as they bring about new initiatives for reimbursement that would combine behavioral and medical health payments. Among the primary criticisms that U.S. healthcare has received over the years is that its method of providing health care identifies medical and behavioral services as independent and not as important as physical health services. Furthermore, preventative efforts make up only 5 percent of the total expenditures for healthcare. Along with the…

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