Main Library
There is an understandable fear and a little outrage right now about health care budget cuts. Some proposed cuts will raise the amount of unfunded care for hospitals and physicians if Medicaid coverage is reduced, and impact patients in nursing homes. Other proposals will eliminate offsets for medical debt or physician education through residency programs. While not directly affecting Medicare benefits, these proposals affect the bottom line of hospitals and health systems, and all patients and coverage programs will bear the brunt.
Providers’ lack of engagement in cost control must change. While the industry claims to be experts about health care and its costs, the slow adoption of risk payment models in Value-Based Care has precipitated a crisis in costs that requires immediate correction. The only way to change it is for providers to get out in front on cost control.