Several years out, the Affordable Care Act has dramatically reshaped healthcare delivery for several major Ohio providers, according to Cleveland.com.
The Cleveland area’s biggest names, such as the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth System and University Hospitals, have all overhauled their care models in the wake of the ACA’s implementation. Cleveland Clinic has cut $600 million in expenses over the past three years, according to the article. University Hospitals has changed its approach to numerous procedures and practices, such as hip replacements and appointment booking.
MetroHealth’s reforms have been even more dramatic; rather than facing stiff competition from the Clinic and University Hospitals, the system has shifted its focus to outpatient care, with its outpatient use increasing from 850,000 visits to 1.2 million, FierceHealthcare previously reported.
"Even though the law has had many challenges in its implementation...it has forced health care providers to look at the value they provide instead of just the volume of procedures,” MetroHealth CEO Akram Boutros, M.D., told Cleveland.com.
The ACA’s coverage expansions has cut Ohio’s uninsured rate in half in the same three-year period, improving the financial picture for numerous providers, particularly those serving low-income populations. Medicaid expansion, however, has caused its own problems, according to the article. For example, the Medicaid patient population has higher than average rates of readmissions, leaving the hospitals that serve them facing stiff federal penalties. Groups such as the American Hospital Association have long criticized the federal government’s readmission penalties, and a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommended they incorporate sociodemographic information.
- here’s the article