Gov. Wolf offers U.S. Senate committee several ways to reduce health-care costs
"Health-care costs should be affordable, understandable and reliable," Wolf told
"Achieving these aims requires a twofold approach," Wolf wrote. "First, we must tackle the underlying costs of health-care delivery to allow for more affordable health-care coverage; and second, we must work to ensure patients can rely on predictable health-care costs and avoid unexpected health-care costs when possible."
In December, Alexander had solicited comments from various stakeholders in the health-care industry on reducing costs, ranging from governors to economists to insurers to doctors and nurses.
"I'm going to focus on making the system more of a market, getting rid of barriers and, if I could, find a way to make it possible for those of us who buy health-care services every day to know the price of what we're paying for," Alexander said in a statement he released at the time.
Citing the
"Action to stem the tide is not only warranted," Wolf said, "it is our duty as public servants to cultivate a more affordable and sustainable health-care market for our fellow citizens."
To reduce health-care costs, Wolf recommended that
Wolf also urged the full transition from payments based on high volume to a value-based payment system based on quality of care; curtailing the rise in prescription drug costs; fostering competition among health-care providers; implementing "emerging technologies," such as telemedicine (where patients interact with doctors via live video), to reduce costs; and ending "surprise balance billing" for consumers who unwittingly seek medical care outside of their approved network, resulting in burdensome out-of-pocket spending.
Lastly, Wolf suggested
"The federal government is best situated to take action to address facility fees through regulatory and legislative action, as states are limited in their authority over such an issue," Wolf wrote.
"We share the vital goals of providing quality, affordable health-insurance coverage while stemming the unsustainable growth of health-care costs," Wolf told Alexander, "and I hope that you find my feedback to be constructive in this regard."
___
(c)2019 the Beaver County Times (Beaver, Pa.)
Visit the Beaver County Times (Beaver, Pa.) at www.timesonline.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Increasing Growth Rate of Private Hospitals Market in 2019-2025: IHH Healthcare Berhad, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services
United Kingdom Home Insurance Market Trends Report, 2019 – Direct Line and Aviva Lead the Market – ResearchAndMarkets.com
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News