Legislation creating a three-year pilot program to improve health care outcomes, quality and access for Medicaid recipients at reduced costs has been signed into law. The law, sponsored by Assembly Democrats Craig J. Coughlin, Louis D. Greenwald and Celeste Riley, creates the Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Demonstration Project. Under the program, nonprofit groups can apply to provide healthcare to Medicaid fee-for-service recipients residing in an area with more than 5,000 Medicaid recipients.
Providers that can deliver improved care, expand access to primary and behavioral health care services, and reduce unnecessary and inefficient costs associated with care rendered to Medicaid recipients would be entitled to gain sharing or cost savings payments from Medicaid.
“This program will provide improved health care at reduced costs for New Jersey’s most vulnerable patients, many of whom have limited access to coordinated and primary care services, and tend to delay care, underutilize preventive care, and seek care in hospital emergency departments for preventable problems,” said Coughlin (D-Middlesex).
“The ACO model is recognized as a mechanism that can be used to improve health care quality and health outcomes, while lowering the costs of medical care by providing incentives to coordinate care among providers throughout a region,” said Greenwald (D-Camden). “This is welcomed news for Medicaid patients and taxpayers.”
“People often assume better health care means higher costs, but this program has shown the opposite,” said Riley (D-Salem/Cumberland/Gloucester). “I’m hopeful that after the trial period, it will serve as a model for achievement of improved health care at lower costs that can be replicated in other settings to the benefit of patients and taxpayers throughout New Jersey.” TLS.
When has a Government program ever cost less. When has a Government incentive ever saved money. All this will do is create more Government employees. The Democrats have to stop spending money they don’t have and is not theirs.
To #1 you are totally correct, every program the government has ever handled has huge cost over runs look at all the problems with social security,it was just announced that socail security disability in close to be insolvent, the Post office is loosing millons $$, and just wait and see what the true cost o fOboma care is going to be unless it gets tossed out .
This whole bill, as reported, seems very out-of-place and certainly not with the times – as almost every single Medicaid beneficiary is already, or about to be, enrolled in medicaid managed-care.
With the latest CMS approvals permitting the NJ Medicaid agency a waiver to mandate practically all individuals (with the exceptions of some very limited situations) into HMOs, the FFS system in our state has become practically obsolete.
So my dear TLS friend… the reporter’s language connecting the new law to only fee-for-service is inaccurate and misleading. Because, as I’ve explained, this law would be serving no purpose.
Instead, what this story failed to mention, was that this new law applies most significantly to medicaid managed care organizations (the primary deliverer of medicaid’s healthcare services) and will thus impact over 1 million beneficiaries in NJ.
I hope you see now that the journalistic blunder is not merely technical or typographical. It totally changed the story for a million people. It should cause your team to triple-check the sources. 🙂
I find it interesting that you put Dr. Shanick’s office address as the photo for your story. There already is quality health care for all from that address. It doesn’t matter if you are on a regular insurance or medicaid, you are treated with the same respect and quality of care. A learning example for all other medical teams…