June 29, 2010
Produced and interviewed by Steven Greer, MD
The Healthcare Channel and The University of Miami Health System hosted a roundtable discussion on the general topic of ways to reduce the growth of healthcare spending. With the passage of the healthcare insurance coverage expansion law, or Affordable Care Act (ACA), in order to make the plan budget neutral, at least $500 Billion in healthcare spending will need to be trimmed just to reduce the growth rate. Nothing like that has ever been accomplished by the Federal government.
The panel of experts were:
- Donna Shalala, PhD, President of The University of Miami and former Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department for eight years under the Clinton administration.
- Pascal Goldschmidt, MD, Dean of The Miller School of Medicine, The University of Miami, and CEO of the UM health System
- Ralph Sacco, MD, Chair of the Department of Neurology, The Miller School of Medicine, The University of Miami
- David Cutler, PhD, Professor of Applied Economics, Department of Economics and Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and senior adviser to President Obama on health policy
- Steven Greer, MD, moderator
In Part 1, The following topics were discussed:
- Pharmaceutical price negotiations by Medicare, the VA, and other Federal agencies
- How PBM’s do not pass along to the payer the rebates they negotiate on drug prices
- Durable medical goods pricing
- The increase in the Medicaid population under the ACA and the stresses to State budgets
- The Medicare “Doctor Fix”
- Cuts to Medicare Advantage
- Cuts to oncology practices
- How the ACA healthcare reform will not decrease spending overall, but rather slow growth
If you do not see the embedded video below, click here