My turn: Just say no to ACOs (Say hello to Obamacare’s latest technocratic gimmick)

Mountain Democrat ^ | February 26, 2014 | Sally Pipes

[Evil Slayer]

Say hello to Obamacare’s latest technocratic gimmick — the Accountable Care Organization (ACO).

The first of these federally-chartered Pioneer ACO groups of healthcare providers just recently launched. Proponents of ACOs claim that the new entities will help doctors and hospitals better coordinate care in order to improve the health of Medicare patients and reduce costs.

Don’t count on it. Instead of helping doctors and patients to make individualized treatment decisions, ACOs will empower government bureaucrats to consolidate healthcare providers into top-down organizations and dictate how care is delivered — at greater cost.

According to Obamacare’s supporters, ACOs will streamline communication among doctors and thereby result in more effective care for patients.

Providers will be paid not according to the number of procedures they perform but according to the quality of care they deliver. So doctors and hospitals will have a strong incentive not to repeat tests or perform procedures that don’t improve patients’ health.

The theory underpinning ACOs was based on the success of a small number of highly coordinated health systems like the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, Intermountain Health and the Geisinger Health System. Each of those organizations was once touted by Obamacare’s backers as a model for ACOs envisioned by the federal reform law.

But all four have chosen not to participate in the initial 32 Pioneer ACOs launched this year, because the bureaucratic burden of following Obamacare’s 696 pages’ worth of new regulations is just too high.

According to a letter written by the Cleveland Clinic to the Department of Health and Human Services, the rules are “replete with prescriptive requirements that have little to do with outcomes” and “detailed governance and reporting requirements that create significant administrative burdens.”

[Evil Slayer]

I just received a letter from Central Missouri Medical Network saying my doctor is participating in a medicare shared savings program accountable care organization. It included a form that I can fill out allowing me to "Not" allow medicare to share my personal health information for care coordination with central Missouri medical network and any other ACOs in which any of my doctors or other healthcare providers participate.

I consider this very questionable since the doctors are allowing a non medical bureaucratic panel to dictate what can or can not be medically allowed for my health care. Is this the so called "death panel" that obamacare is trying to sneak in under the radar?

If others have received a similar letter from Central Missouri Medical Network or other ACOs, I would appreciate your inputs on this subject.

[Evil Slayer]

((((PING))))

[Scoutmaster]

Accountable Care Organizations aren't new. They've been part of Obamacare since inception.

In addition, ACO is simply a new name for what we used to call Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in the 1980s.

As to your situation, 45 C.F.R. 164.506 contains an exception that already permits HIPAA-covered entities to disclose your protected health information for the treatment activities of any health care provider.

If all of your other providers are sharing information about you for care coordination, why would you want to sign a form permitting Medicare from holding its cards close to its vest if participating in care coordination?