HEALTH CARE REFORM: Chapter 7

Title III is entitled Promoting Primary Care, Mental Health Services, and Coordinated Care. Its first provision creates an "Accountable Care Organization Pilot Program". The second provision creates a "Medical Home Pilot Program". The third provision creates payment incentives for selected primary care services. The fourth provision increases the reimbursement rate for certified nurse-midwives (although I have to wonder how many Medicare beneficiaries utilize such providers). The fifth provision is about coverage and waiver of cost-sharing for preventive services, such as prostate cancer screenings. The sixth provision waives the deductible for colorectible for colorectal cancer screenings "regardless of coding, subsequent diagnosis, or ancillary tissue removal". The seventh provision excludes clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Payment. The eighth provision covers marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services. I understand that some people have latched onto the idea that the government is going to intervene in their marriage, but they don't have to receive such services and have them covered by Medicare if they don't want to. The ninth provision extends the physician fee schedule mental health add-on. The tenth provision expands access to vaccines. Those 10 brief provisions bring us to Page 501 and the end of Title III.