DMAA Calls for Population-Based Health Initiatives in MedicareWASHINGTON, D.C.—The health of chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries and fiscal integrity of the Medicare program demand broad deployment of coordinated, population-based health improvement strategies, the Disease Management Association of America (DMAA) told a Senate committee today. "Medicare beneficiaries with chronic disease—particularly those with multiple conditions—consume an overwhelming majority of program spending," DMAA said in a statement to the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "This is where we should direct our efforts to lower costs. Programs such as Medicare Health Support and other population-based efforts can help us achieve program savings and extend the lives of both Medicare and its beneficiaries." Care coordination for chronically ill beneficiaries offers a "valuable opportunity" to improve care quality, reduce hospitalizations and other costly acute interventions, increase efficiency and lower the risk of medication errors and other adverse events, DMAA told the committee. The association noted that the Institute of Medicine and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission both have called for care coordination in Medicare. DMAA thanked Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., for her commitment to improving health care with proactive measures, such as the Geriatric Assessment and Chronic Care Coordination Act of 2007. DMAA also applauded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for its "leadership in testing various models of coordinated population health improvement strategies, such as Medicare Health Support" and other pilots. "Care coordination, disease management and population-based health initiatives, we believe, represent our best hope in this battle" against chronic disease in Medicare, DMAA said. # # # About DMAA |
