government
ACA data “dashboard” will track chronic conditions
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 15, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on March 28 announced that it was employing a new data tool to advance the health system reform goals of helping Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.
CMS said the new “dashboard” would make it easy for physicians and others in the health system to find current information on where these types of conditions take place, what services these beneficiaries need, and what Medicare spends on them. In 2011, the program spent about 93% of its funding, or $276 billion, on beneficiaries with two or more chronic health issues.
The dashboard is part of a larger initiative, begun in 2009, by the Dept. of Health and Human Services to improve the health of people with multiple chronic conditions.
The majority of Medicare beneficiaries have chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, “and that number will rise with an aging population,” said Marilyn Tavenner, CMS acting administrator. “The Affordable Care Act addresses these health problems by making people with Medicare eligible for recommended preventive care without Part B deductibles or co-payments. The health care law also promotes better health care coordination and management of chronic conditions through analysis of current data.”
