HHS recommends policy changes for high-quality health care

The HHS in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Labor, the Federal Trade Commission and several offices within the White House released a report that describes the influence of state and federal laws, regulations, guidance and policies on choice and competition in health care markets. The report also identifies actions that may help states and the federal government develop a better functioning health care market.

“We know the United States health care system too often fails to deliver the value it should. This report identifies barriers on the federal and state levels to market competition that stifle innovation, lead to higher prices and do not incentivize improvements in quality,” according to the report. “It recommends policies that will foster a health care system that delivers high-quality care at affordable prices through greater choice, competition and consumer-directed health care spending.”

Improved health care

To encourage innovation and allow providers more easily to meet patients’ needs, the report recommends policies that will broaden providers’ scope of practice, while improving workforce mobility. The report also recommends streamlining funding for graduate medical education to allocate taxpayer dollars efficiently, as well as to address physician supply shortages.

According to the report, state action to repeal or scale back certificate of need laws and the development of value-based payment models that offer flexibility and risk-based incentives for providers, especially without burdening small or rural practice, may help promote choice and competition in provider markets. In review of health care insurance markets, the report recommends changing regulations that limit coverage choices to lend more flexibility for states to develop policies that account for diverse consumer preferences.

“This report recommends scaling back government mandates, eliminating barriers to competition and allowing consumers maximum opportunity to purchase health insurance that meets their needs,” according to the report.

Finally, the report noted federal and state health policies have been shown to provide more control to consumers over their health care dollars and allow consumers to demand greater value. To allow health care consumers to make well-informed decisions about their care, the report recommends expanding access to health savings accounts, implementing reference pricing where appropriate, and developing price and quality transparency.

AAOS response

In response, David A. Halsey, MD, president of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, said the recommendations to reform the American health care system through increased choice and competition made by the administration are encouraging.

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“Lifting restrictions on physician-owned hospitals is a necessary step to improving quality of care, reducing costs and giving patients access to facilities in their own communities,” Halsey said in a statement.

He added that patients will be empowered to make their own health care decisions through positive realignment of incentives through payment reform. Halsey also noted federal antitrust laws should be applied to the business of health insurance to address potential antitrust and provider consolidation concerns, and that the repeal or scaling back of certificate of need laws may remove additional anticompetitive elements of the current health care marketplace.

“In coordination, these critical changes to our current system will promote the patient choice and competition we desperately need,” Halsey said. “The AAOS is pleased to see these administration recommendations echo our own initiatives, and we stand ready to aid both agencies and lawmakers in accomplishing this goal.”

Reference:

http://newsroom.aaos.org/media-resources/Press-releases/pan-to-promote-healthcare-competition.htm