Health Care Reform: Treatment Effectiveness Information Nationwide
15 Pages Posted: 9 Jul 2014 Last revised: 4 Feb 2015
Date Written: July 8, 2014
Abstract
High-cost, low-value care permeates much of the American health care system. Congress has begun attempting to address the issue by provisions in the Affordable Care Act encouraging a shift from pay-for-volume to pay-for-performance practices, and by funding clinical effectiveness research through the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). This short paper offers an overview of the background of PCORI’s formation, the politically-derived constraints within which it is required to operate, and the types of studies it is carrying out. The paper concludes that in addition to clinical effectiveness studies, well-designed cost-effectiveness studies are needed for the development of rationalized health care practices -- current congressional restrictions notwithstanding.
Keywords: outcomes research, health reform, PCORI, clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, death panels, pay-for-performance, accountable care organizations, ACO, QALY
JEL Classification: D81, H51, I12, I18, J17, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation