海角大神

5 steps to bipartisan cuts in Medicare 鈥 and the deficit

Medicare is the single greatest contributor to long-term deficits. If Democrats and Republicans cooperate on waste-cutting ideas 鈥 many of which are backed by President Obama 鈥 both parties stand to gain. Here are five ways Congress should act.

3. Reduce poor-quality and duplicative care

The current fee-for-service health-care payment system encourages doctors to perform more tasks rather than overseeing a patient鈥檚 overall care from beginning to end. That has led to expensive, disjointed, and often mediocre service, as well as wide price variation to treat similar conditions. Bundling payments, by grouping a set of services over a given period into one payment, gives providers an incentive for efficiency and coordination that is absent in today鈥檚 fee-for-service model.

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