Last Saturday, Kaiser Health News reported on one way that health consultants are benefitting from last year’s federal health care reform law. In this case, health professionals are seeking support for the development of new accountable care organizations or ACOs.
It is not uncommon for particular and perhaps unexpected segments of health care or public health industries to benefit from changes in rules and regulations. As mentioned in this article, one notable aspect of this dynamic is its scale, which is driven by myriad legal, cultural, technical and other changes needed to implement federal requirements.
Copied from the Kaiser Health News website;
For months, said Washington health-care attorney Rene Quashie, his phone has been “ringing off the hook,” with hospital and doctor clients wanting advice on how to reorganize themselves to get new Medicare bonuses under the health-care law. Handling such questions, said Quashie, an associate with the firm Drinker Biddle & Reath, is sure to be “a growth area” for his firm.
And a lucrative one.
From Washington to California, the year-old health law, with its layers of complexity, is setting off a gold rush for high-priced lawyers and consultants. It’s “a full employment act for health-care consultants,” said Ian Morrison, a founding partner of Strategic Health Perspectives in Menlo Park, Calif.
Much of the activity – and the prospect of glitteringly high fees – is swirling around a widely discussed provision that encourages doctors, hospitals and insurers to team up in treating patients. Initially, these “accountable care organizations,” as envisioned in the law, will treat only Medicare patients, and will get bonuses for providing better care at lower cost. But if they work, ACOs will likely spread to private patients as well…(continued).
NOTE: The Kaiser Health News site also provides FAQs and other info about ACOs.
