Providers doubt health reform will lower costs
 
As physicians and nurses steel themselves to swallow a liberal dose of health care reform, many doubt that current federal proposals will lead to lower costs, according to a new survey by a local company.
More than half of 500 health care providers polled by Ivans Inc. expect little or no impact from billions of dollars to promote the adoption of health care information technology systems, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, despite the vast majority citing budget limitations at their clinics as the primary barrier to adoption of health IT.
Based in Stamford, Ivans creates IT systems for hospitals, insurance companies and agencies and other industries. The company conducted the survey in May, with two-thirds of respondents identifying themselves as nursing providers, and the rest hospitals, physicians and third-party billing companies.
“Providers are diverse, and significant attention from the government needs to be placed on addressing their different needs,” said Ivans CEO Clare DeNicola in a written statement. “A small nursing home in a rural area will have IT requirements that vary from a multi-facility hospital.”
Survey respondents were also skeptical of the ability of a national insurance system to reduce costs, with nearly 60 percent saying it would likely lead to increased costs or have no effect at all.
Nearly four in five of those polled said a pay-for-performance model would increase expenses due to increased reporting and record-keeping requirements, and so health care costs. Under a pay-for-performance system, providers would be paid more for providing services that lead to better medical results for patients, which 72 percent of survey respondents agreed would lead to better health outcomes.
Four in five respondents said Medicare payment cuts represent the biggest threat to their revenue, followed by cuts from commercial insurance carriers (46 percent) and a decline in patient spending due to the recession (33 percent).