WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) touted their forthcoming bipartisan proposal to improve chronic care at a roundtable on innovation and reform in Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) yesterday.

“Senators Isakson and Wyden are doing vital work. If we are going to keep Medicare affordable, we must expand, not curtail, innovative approaches to treating chronic disease like those developed by high-quality MA plans and others,” said John Rother, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC), one of two co-sponsors of the event.

In addition to the remarks from Senators Isakson and Wyden, the Roundtable featured presentations by two experts in health care policy: Lanhee J. Chen, Ph.D., Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, and Kenneth E. Thorpe, Ph.D., co-chair of the event’s other co-sponsor, Partnership for the Future of Medicare (PFM). Dr. Chen pointed to successes in the Medicare Advantage program, while Dr. Thorpe discussed his “Medicare Integrate” proposal to extend successful care management approaches to the original Medicare program.

According to Dr. Chen, “The Medicare Advantage program has been a crucial source of innovation in Medicare, and demonstrates the vital role that competition and choice can play in improving the program.  Policymakers have already enacted over $200 billion in cuts to the program over the next 10 years, and should reject efforts to cripple the program any further.”

Thorpe stressed the need to do more than just avoid harmful cuts. “Medicare reform needs to address the key drivers of rising health care spending. The rising prevalence of chronic disease accounts for 80 percent of the growth in Medicare spending and patients with 5 or more chronic conditions account for 70 percent of spending. We need to take best practice care coordination and prevention tools used by Medicare Advantage plans and build them into the original Medicare program,” he said.

Presentations from the event, titled “Innovation in Health Care Delivery and Benefits: What’s Worked in Medicare Advantage? What’s Needed Today?” are available below…

Rother – Medicare Innovation Intro

Chen – Lessons from Medicare Advantage

Thorpe – Medicare Integrate

 ###

This roundtable is one of a series of NCHC sponsored events, bringing together thought leaders, policymakers and stakeholders for timely public discussions about the future of America’s health system. The views expressed by the speakers are their own and do not reflect the positions of the National Coalition on Health Care, NCHC Action Fund, or their cosponsors.