The Health Care Blog: Costs Are Not The Same As Rates

Paul Levy in the Health Care Blog. Paul Levy is the President and CEO of Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center in Boston. "Readers here know that I strongly support improvements in the quality and safety of patient care and the reduction of inefficiencies in the provision of care. Washington seems to think you are more likely get those improvements by underpaying hospitals and doctors for the care they deliver. You will not. How you get there is not simple, but it involves transparency of clinical outcomes and rate structures so employers and workers can see the actual value offered by different health care providers. This would stimulate competition, too, in that insurance companies could then offer plans and products that reflect providers' relative value propositions to their subscribers. Meanwhile, let's pay primary care doctors and other cognitive specialists rates commensurate with their real importance in the health system. Then, they could take the time needed to care for patients appropriately and not just act as a triage way station to higher cost specialties and invasive procedures. Isn't it revealing that Medicare and Medicaid could today set an example for all by requiring this kind of transparency and these payment changes, but there has not been the will to do so?" Full Story: The Health Care Blog: Costs Are Not The Same As Rates