Jim AlexanderTechical Director, HFMA
The latest report on healthcare spending projections had more qualified statements than we’re likely to hear from politicians linked to Abramoff money. Not that it could have been otherwise, with the Medicare drug benefit just coming up to speed as various other Medicare Modernization Act and Deficit Reduction Act provisions continue to be assessed. More than at almost any time in recent past, the CMS researchers have demonstrated uncertainty approximating what healthcare providers endure year end and year out.
Does that mean the latest report is of “questionable” value? If you look past those numbers that are acknowledged to be off the mark (such as Medicare’s spending on physician services), you’ll find others that have to be taken seriously by healthcare planners, such as:
--Home health spending growth--The boomers’ push downward on the Medicare average age and improvement in relative health--A doubling, and almost tripling, of the number of Medicare beneficiaries in managed care plans by 2015
Remember Me
