The promises made to President Obama by several healthcare industry groups to control healthcare costs were overstated by the president, some of the groups are saying. Many of the savings under discussion would employ information technology as a way to shave expenses.
The New York Times reported Thursday that the groups - including the American Hospital Association and America's Health Insurance Plans - say they agreed to curb spending, but in a more gradual way than Obama asserted. They have sent bulletins and held conference calls with their members to clarify several points, the Times reported.
Obama said after the meeting on Monday the groups would reduce the rate of healthcare spending growth by 1.5 percent a year for a savings of $2 trillion over 10 years. In turn, the savings would save families $2,500 a year, according to the administration.
He asked the groups to provide by June 1 the details on how they planned to achieve the savings.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius repeated those numbers in a conference call after the meeting Monday.
And, in a May 11 letter to President Obama, signed by all six organizations - the Advanced Medical Technology Association, America's Health Insurance Plans, the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and Service Employers International Union - they wrote:
"...We have joined together in an unprecedented effort, as private sector stakeholders - physicians, hospitals, other healthcare workers, payors, suppliers, manufacturers, and organized labor - to offer concrete initiatives that will transform the healthcare system. As restructuring takes hold and the population's health improves over the coming decade, we will do our part to achieve your Administration's goal of decreasing by 1.5 percentage points the annual healthcare spending growth rate - saving $2 trillion or more. This represents more than a 20 percent reduction in the projected rate of growth. We believe this approach can be highly successful and can help the nation to achieve the reform goals we all share."
"Our message is clear: the private sector will do its part to bend the healthcare cost curve, Karen Ignagni, president of AHIP, said in a separate statement. "We are initiating the reforms needed to make healthcare more affordable for families and employers and to put our healthcare system on a sustainable path."
Among the proposals with IT underpinnings are administrative simplification, standardization, transparency, aligning quality and efficiency incentives among providers, evidence-based best practices and therapies and chronic disease management.
