Senate Proceeding on Nov 5th, 2009 :: 0:16:55 to 0:21:55
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0:16:52 to 0:17:13( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: colleague from colorado, senor mark udall, to discuss accountable care mr. udall: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. udall: mr. president, i want to start by thanking my clear, senator hagan, from north carolina for convening this important session this morning where we will talk about the urgent need to reform health care in our country. the unsustainable growth in

0:16:55 to 0:21:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Mark Udall

0:17:14 to 0:17:34( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: health care costs and lack of stable, aforrable coverage for millions to jeopardize not only our naon's fiscal well-being, but also the physical well-being of our families an neighbors. mr. president, one of ways we can help put our health care system and our economy on the right track is by encouraging value in the delivery of health care.

0:17:35 to 0:17:55( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: i cited these numbers before. i know many of us have. but i want to emphasize them again. as a nation we spend over $2 trillion per year on health care. that's economy. yet, between 30% and 50% of these dollars are not contributing to better patient health. that's not a good deal for the

0:17:56 to 0:18:16( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: american people, mr. president. health reform is designed to address this staggering amount of waste in a number of ways. one way is to encourage providers to focus on the quality of care they provide and not just on volume. and we can start with medicare, mr. president. i think the american people would agree that taxpayer dollars are better spent by

0:18:17 to 0:18:40( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: rewarding doctors for keeping patients healthy and not for performing more tests or more procedures. health reform legislation can move us in this direction through the development of what are known as accountable care organizations or, a.c.o.'s. these organizations would encourage groups of health care professionals to team up and

0:18:41 to 0:19:03( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: streamline care to medicare patients. the idea is to have these a.c.o.'s take responsibility for improving patient care while lowering costs and then sharing the savings that accrue. now, research indicates that this idea of shared savings would help eliminate waste an spur changes in our health care delivery system to emphasize patient outcomes and value.

0:19:04 to 0:19:26( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: now, the idea for a.c.o.'s no doubt came from the great work being done by a patchwork of physician groups. groups like the physician health partners or p.h.p. in state of colorado and all across the country are coordination ond quality. for exam -- and quality. p.h.p. has helped kids suffering

0:19:27 to 0:19:48( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: from razz marks the number one cause of child hospitalization and school absence much they have treatment guidelines and promoted treatment aspects from doctors from the colorado asthma centers. they reduced emergency room visits an improved family's ability to manage asthma on their own.

0:19:49 to 0:20:11( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: p.h.p. also has the practice health project. this comprehensive eort brings doctors together to share best practices and encourage the adoption of commonsense guidelines to improve quality and efficient sivment the goal of this team effort is to raise the standard and value of care and allow these physician groups to act as model for denver's physician community as a whole.

0:20:12 to 0:20:32( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: i'd also like to it out the p.h.p.'s transition of care program. in collaboration with denver st. anthony hospital and other local care providers, the program dispatches nurse coaches to help medicare patients make the transition from the hospital to their homes. the period immediately following a hospital stay is a very confusing time particularly for

0:20:33 to 0:20:54( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: our seniors. having someone help with this transition is crucial. p.h.p. has had tremendous success with this program showing the tendency to reduce hospital readmissions by 20% to 50%. at the same t helps keep patients healthy and saves money.

0:20:55 to 0:21:17( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: the successes of groups like physician's health partner shows that we have the will and no how to change the system for the better. but, mr. president, unour existing system, there's no incentive for programs like p.h.p. to even exist. under the status quo a hospital stands to lose money if it decreases its admission rates. primary care doctors would be at a

0:21:18 to 0:21:38( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: spent time to develop implement treatment plans for their asthmatic patients. this is why health reform includes commonsense proposals such as encouraging groups like physicians health partners to form accountable care organizations and paying them to coordinate care for medicare patients. promoting a.c.o.'s and other

0:21:39 to 0:21:56( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: creative pro consumer ideas will increase quality for patients and value for the taxpayer. only by reshaping the way we do business in our health care system can we truly change health care delivery in our country. mr. president, i look forward to working with my colleagues here today and other senators in