ACOs, IRS role in health reform implementation grab headlines

Subscription websites report on recent developments related to the health law.

Politico Pro: Consultants Wait For Word On ACA's Future
The inside joke among lobbyists as the health care law took shape was that it was so big and so sprawling, it would provide enough work for all of them for years to come. It became known as the "Full Employment Act." Now, it's not looking like such a sure thing anymore. The Supreme Court this summer will decide how much of the law can stay intact. And what the court leaves behind could be subject to the outcome of the general election (DoBias, 4/12).

Modern Healthcare: Lawmakers Ask About HHS Funds Going To IRS
Concerned that the Internal Revenue Service may be receiving additional funding from HHS to implement the healthcare reform law, two House lawmakers have asked the federal agency to answer a series of questions by the month's end. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), a physician who serves as chairman of the tax panel's oversight subcommittee, sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman asking if the IRS intends to seek additional funds from HHS to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Zigmond, 4/11).

Modern Healthcare: AMA, AHA Weigh In On Shared-Savings ACOs
The American Medical Association applauded physicians' leading role in many of the 27 healthcare organizations designated as the first Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organizations, while the American Hospital Association expressed support for accountable care's expansion. The AMA, in a news release, praised the fact that more than half of the first Medicare Shared Savings ACOs are being led by physicians and said that this bodes well for long-term physician interest and participation in the program (Robeznieks, 4/11).

Related, earlier KHN story: ACOs Multiply As Medicare Announces 27 New Ones (Gold and Torres, 4/10)