Government
Study doubts costs savings from Medicare PPOs
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 17, 2004
Medicare preferred provider organizations are unlikely to achieve lawmakers' goals of reining in program spending, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change. The PPOs established by the Medicare reform bill will go into effect in 2006 with a variety of financial incentives designed to pull plans into all regions of the country.
"The very reasons PPOs are so popular for privately insured Americans -- more choice and less oversight of care than HMOs -- will make it difficult for PPOs over the long haul to slow cost growth and improve quality in Medicare, especially since traditional Medicare already provides wide choice of providers and few restrictions of care," said Paul Ginsburg, PhD, the center's president.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/05/17/gvbf0517.htm.
