June 27, 2012 | Comments Off on The Train Has Left the Station
Posted by Beth Christian
On Thursday, June 28th, the US Supreme Court is expected to issue its widely anticipated decision regarding the Affordable Care Act. I am currently attending the American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, where the changing landscape of healthcare is a hot topic. On Monday, we had former CMS Administrator Dr. Donald Berwick as a keynote speaker.
Dr. Berwick noted that no matter what the Supreme Court decides, “the train has left the station.” Dr. Berwick noted that the health industry’s recognition of the need for systemic change has stimulated enough new developments that the Supreme Court’s decision on whether or not to uphold the law was “not the whole game here.” Other industry leaders have highlighted new healthcare delivery models which use a strong focus on data analysis and evidence based medicine as vehicles to improve quality and reduce costs. Given the investments being made in these new models and the interest in them being exhibited by non-government payors, they are likely to remain no matter what the Supreme Court decides.