Since the passage of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio has led an effort to provide in-depth, non-partisan analysis of federal health care reform and its potential impact on Ohio.
HPIO Resources
Understanding the Medicare ACO and Its Potential Impact on Ohio and the Nation
HPIO policy brief Primer Table of 65 proposed measures for Medicare Shared Savings Program
(May, 2011) Federal health reform legislation requires that the Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) establish a Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) by January 1, 2012. The MSSP encourages physicians, hospitals, and certain other types of providers and suppliers to form accountable care organizations (ACOs). This policy brief (and accompanying primer) on Accountable Care Organizations, includes a summary of the Medicare Shared Savings Program Proposed Rules, highlights key considerations and concerns, and offers reactions from several Ohio-based health systems that are already implementing some form of accountable care.
Federal government website dedicated specifically to addressing federal health reform. Includes FAQs, reports, timelines, updates on the rule-writing process, and implementation news: www.healthreform.gov
Includes link to HR 3590, the Senate health bill: docs.house.gov (pdf)
Congressional Budget Office information on effects on discretionary health spending; various reports pertaining to health reform: www.cbo.gov/publications
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates from the Office of the Actuary: www.cms.gov (pdf)
Subsidy calculator, timeline, reports, news, congressional testimony, slides, and information on state health reform initiatives: www.kaiserhealthnews.org
A report on national and state-by-state Medicaid coverage and spending under health reform: www.kff.org/healthreform
National Conference of State Legislatures
Summary of the state grant opportunities in the PPACA: HR 3590. Organized by categories – “Insurance Reforms”, “Health Workforce”, “Medicaid”, “Medicare”, “Quality, Prevention, & Wellness”: www.ncsl.org (PDF)
Federal Funds Information for States
Links to final version of the law, updates on rule-making, CBO estimates and CMS estimates, financial information on the law and its impact: www.ffis.org
Robert Wood Johnson’s State Coverage Initiative
State Profiles of coverage, information on events, tools for policymakers on state health insurance exchange implementation, and information on grant opportunities: www.statecoverage.org/
Brookings Institute
Research, commentary, information on past and upcoming events related to health care reform: www.brookings.edu
The Commonwealth Fund
Resources, analysis of the impact of reform implementation on spending, payment, and quality improvement, charts/slides on health care reform: www.commonwealthfund.org
National Academy for State Health Policy
A policy briefing on 10 aspects of federal reform that states “must get right if they are to be successful in implementation.”: nashp.org (pdf)
