The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) recently released a new national health care cost-containment strategy. Funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, A Bipartisan Rx for Patient-Centered Care and System-Wide Cost Containment, proposes strategies that would save $560 billion in health care expenditures over the next 10 years. BPC's main source for cost-containment is the alteration of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, which accounts for nearly $300 billion of the proposed savings. Other cost-containment measures prescribed included the expansion of Medicare networks, a concept very similar to Accountable Care Organizations, and instituting the competitive bidding practice among Medicare Advantage plans.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a memorandum stating that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may assume that Congress will amend the sustainable growth rate (SGR) in order to prevent doctors from taking massive cuts in their Medicare reimbursements. CMS claimed that they did not possess the legal authority to make that assumption, and therefore cited the SGR as a reason to propose a 2.3% cut to Medicare Advantage (MA). As a result, legislators are hoping that CMS will use this authority to reduce their proposed cuts to MA rates in light of the savings from the pending "doc fix" on SGR. UPDATE: In response to the findings from CRS, CMS released a report stating they will assume a "doc fix" from Congress and therefore increase MA payments by 3.3% for next year.

The Commonwealth Fund published a study today describing how 24 states and the District of Columbia selected the benchmark plans to offer in their respective state insurance marketplaces. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) calls for a set of essential health benefits that state insurers must offer to ensure comprehensive and adequate coverage. The federal government permitted states to choose their own benchmark plans, pursuant to ACA requirements, that serve as a reference point for the essential health benefits package. All but five states have selected a small-group plan. This study analyzes the methodology used to select state benchmark plans, which included approaches such as intergovernmental collaboration, research, and stakeholder engagement.