HHS to pay $1 billion for ideas to drive down health costs

The availability of a second round of grants -- funded by the health law -- was announced to support approaches to reduce costs and improve care. The initial round, announced last year, funded 107 organizations.

CBS News: Gov't To Pay $1 Billion For Innovative Health Care Ideas
The U.S. government will award up to $1 billion in grants for innovative health care ideas that drive down medical costs, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Wednesday. On a conference call with reporters, HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the country has made strides in reducing medical costs, and national health care spending has fallen to a 50-year low. However, she said there is still more to do (Jaslow, 5/15).

CQ HealthBeat: Innovation Center Plans Second Round Of Grants
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center is preparing to distribute $1 billion in grants for projects designed to improve care and lower costs for federal health programs, agency officials said Wednesday. The second round of grants follows an initial round that was announced last year. At that time, 107 organizations received funding from a total pot of $895 million (Adams, 5/15).

Meanwhile, Medpage Today reports on ACOs -

Medpage Today: Doc-Led ACOs Better Model For Saving $
Physician-led accountable care organizations (ACOs) could have more opportunities to create savings in patient care with a little help from health insurers, a leading health reform expert said Wednesday. Doctor-centric ACOs can do a better job at controlling costs than hospital-led organizations, Paul Ginsburg, PhD, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change here, said at an ACO summit hosted by America's Health Insurance Plans. … Unlike in hospital-led ACOs, doctor-led ACOs aren't compromised financially by reducing hospital admissions and emergency department visits, he pointed out (Pittman, 5/15).