Enzi: Where are Promised Health Care Savings?

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on improving health quality and patient safety, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, asked where the promised health care savings are for government initiatives like the Partnership for Patients program.  Enzi said that Congress should focus on substantive changes that can really improve patient care instead of providing funds to encourage providers to do what they should already be doing. 

“The Partnership for Patients program is providing funds to encourage providers to do the very things they should already be doing for their patients,” said Senator Enzi.  “I see very little evidence that it will actually change the fundamental problems that exist in the current system.  It is time to make changes that really improve patient care. So that we can have a more honest debate about the merits of this program, I will be writing a letter to the Chief Medicare Actuary, Richard Foster, later today asking that he provide me with a real estimate of how much money this program will actually save.”

Senator Enzi noted that the Administration has claimed that the Partnership program will save up to $10 billion for the Medicare program over the next three years.  In fact, the Office of Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed that it has not done an actual estimate of the budget impact of this program. 

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