A new analysis of the Medicare program by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concludes that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will save it more than $120 billion over the next five years. The biggest savings will be reaped through the reform of payments and connecting them to quality and efficiency benchmarks: $55 billion, reports Healthcare Finance News.

Another $50 billion will be saved through curbing excessive payments to insurance companies that provide Medicare Advantage plans, and $10 billion is expected to be saved through programs aimed at improving patient safety. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has goals of using healthcare reform to reduce hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and cutting patient deaths an average of 20,000 per year over the next three years.

"This work is laying the groundwork for a larger transformation of Medicare and our healthcare delivery system, from simply paying for the volume of services provided to rewarding the quality of care delivered," CMS Administrator Donald Berwick said, according to Healthcare Finance News. "We remain committed to achieving a healthcare system that pursues better care, better health, and lower cost through improvement."

To learn more:
- read the Healthcare Finance News article
- check out this Bloomberg story

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