The National Debt and Healthcare: How does the rise change?

The United States National Debt will exceed the United States economy by 2021.  It will be worth 200% of the GDP with in 25 years.  What are the major factors contributing to the mass amounts of debt this nation is acquiring?  The increasing payments made out for social security, Medicare and Medicaid according to the Washington Post.  Contributing to these figures are the aging population of the United States and the increasing cost of healthcare.  If the government doesn't find a way to better account for the money that is being spent in the long run, these items will bankrupt the country.  Many of the politicians do not see raising taxes as the answer, but if not, what is?  The current debate is raging around whether or not to increase the debt ceiling.

The article concludes with this quote from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va):
“I don’t see how multiple votes on a debt-ceiling increase can help get us to where we want to go. We want big reforms. We want big spending cuts and big changes to how this town works. ... If we can’t make the tough decisions now, why would we be making those tough decisions later?”

How can we control costs for healthcare associated expenses on a federal level?

The Ninth Annual Medicare Congress will supply to with the tools to decrease expenses while maintaining quality care for high cost populations including dual eligibles and members in their last six months.

Government to start "Secret Shopper" Calls to Primary Physicians

With the new Affordable Care Act, Obama has promised more Americans access to primary care.  This puts a strain on the already stretched system where there aren't enough primary care physicians to treat the patients they are already seeing.  A problem has arisen where doctors are currently refusing to accept new patients from the government due to continual threats to reduce or stop payments for the Government patients.

In order to get a grasp on how many physicians are doing this, the government has announced a "Secret Shopper" program where they will be calling primary physicians to see if they can visit the doctor, confirming whether doctors will or will not take new patients from the government.  States with doctors scheduled to receive call according to the New York Times are Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

How do you ensure your provider network is strong enough to handle a huge newly eligible population? Attend the Health Insurance Exchange Congress to learn strategies to ensure a sufficient choice of providers to consumers and include essential community providers that serve predominately underserved individuals.

Do you think doctors will receive this well?  What are some of the arguments that could be used to support both the US Government and the primary care physicians?

Texas Governor examining Healthcare Exchange

Governor Rick Perry of Texas is anti-Obamacare. This, however, won't stop his state from having to comply with the Health Insurance Exchange that has to be set up by 2014. While Gov. Perry and a few other Republican Governors are openly opposing healthcare reform (including the governors from Mississippi, Indiana and Wisconsin) they have begun to take the steps to create a Healthcare Exchange in their states. According to the New York Times, Perry believes that a state health insurance exchange is too broad for a state as large and diverse as Texas. He'd like to leave the decisions of healthcare up to local governments so policies can be catered to the local demographics and not just a generic "One Size Fits All" exchange.

At the Healthcare Insurance Exchange, taking place November 9-11, 2011, in Baltimore, Maryland, professionals in this space will come together for the panel debate Room for Debate: Understand the Political Undertone of Exchanges and the ACA where you can hear health plans and state and federal government officials debate as to whether or not this is legal.

Whether or not a state wants an exchange, all states need to comply with federal rulings. Do you think the quality of a state exchange will suffer if a state is “anti-Obamacare”?

Presentation: Prepare for Newly Eligibles for Easier ACA Implementation

Recently at the Medicaid Managed Care Congress,Stephanie Chrobak, Director of Commonwealth Care, State of Massachusetts gave the presentation "Overview of the Massachusetts Health Connector and Health Reform".

After reviewing the presentation, how does your state population differ from the Massachusetts population? How will you have to modify your current offerings to meet the needs of the new populations?

With 45 million new people becoming eligible through Health Insurance Exchanges, this information is especially relevant as we move towards 2014. Come learn about how to prepare for this new population, and other Health Insurance Exchange considerations at the Health Insurance Exchange Congress. Receive 25% off the standard registration rate when registering with Priority code XP1610BLOG.  Register here.