|
 |
 |
|
Sebelius: Health law has slowed growth in medical costs
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday credited President Obama's healthcare law with a recent slowdown in medical spending.
The Congressional Budget Office has projected a significant slowing in the growth of Medicare spending and healthcare costs more generally.
The slowdown came as a surprise — but a welcome one — to many policy wonks, following several years in which medical costs outpaced wages and overall inflation.
"The health care law’s push for coordinated care and paying for quality rather than quantity is putting downward pressure on medical costs, the article reports," Sebelius wrote. "It’s improving the way health care providers do business, and that’s good news for patients."
The healthcare law includes outright reductions in Medicare payments as well as new initiatives that aim to realign the system away from paying for quantity and toward rewarding doctors who keep their patients healthy.
"The Affordable Care Act is driving down costs and improving quality, which will have long-term benefits for our economy and our health," Sebelius wrote.
