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Medicare to Promote Coordinated Care While Lowering Costs
As the administration works to implement the Affordable Care Act, there are several regulatory proposals on the horizon. NOF highlighted the need for osteoporosis care for men and women after they have broken a bone in its comments on one such proposal which would affect access to quality care for Medicare patients.
On June 3rd NOF submitted its recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on a proposed regulation to help doctors, hospitals, and other providers better coordinate care for Medicare patients through Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Certain health care providers could form or participate in ACOs to coordinate services for Medicare patients. By providing coordinated care for patients, ACOs could lower costs while providing higher quality care for Medicare patients. If ACOs lower the growth in Medicare costs while meeting certain quality standards, the ACO could receive a share of those savings from CMS.
The proposed rule contains a list of 65 quality measures that ACOs must meet to quality for a share of the savings from coordinated care. One of those measures specifically addresses osteoporosis by encouraging ACOs to make sure women 65 years and older either have a bone density test or begin treatment for osteoporosis within six months of breaking a bone.
In addition to thanking CMS for including a quality measure on osteoporosis management for women, NOF also recommended that osteoporosis management for men who have broken a bone be included in the required quality measures. Recent research shows that both men and women who break a bone are at an increased risk for breaking a bone again in the future. To read NOF’s comment letter on the proposed rule click here.
The latest
The National Osteoporosis Foundation has named Barbara Hannah Grufferman as its first Bone Health Ambassador. In this newly-established role, Grufferman, a well-known advocate for healthy and positive living, will dedicate her time, talent and energy to raise awareness for osteoporosis and the importance of building strong bones for life.
Thanks to a generous gift from The Samuel J. & Ethel LeFrak Charitable Trust, the National Osteoporosis Foundation met its Generations of Strength fundraising goal one year early. NOF launched the Generations of Strength initiative in September 2011 with the goal of raising $2 million in two years to improve patient care for the most vulnerable – those who have broken bones due to osteoporosis – and to protect future generations from the disease.
The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), the nation’s leading health organization dedicated to preventing osteoporosis and broken bones, has named Claire Gill as its Senior Director of Marketing, Consumer and Corporate Outreach. Gill brings extensive experience in public relations and marketing communications to this newly-established role.
