MINNESOTA
JANUARY 2022
THE INDEPENDENT MEDICAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
Volume XXXV, No. 10
PHYSICIAN Medicare Advantage Overpayments An unsustainable future BY KIP SULLIVAN, JD
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Health Care Supply Chain Dynamics Finding room for improvement BY LUIS VALADEZ
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he concept of supply chain management is relatively new, first appearing in 1983. Prior to the industrial revolution, manufacture of nearly everything was local and relied on local resources. Greater production capacities brought greater supply chain needs, but they were constrained by simple exigencies such as delivery options. The internal combustion engine and trucks changed delivery options from boats and trains, Health Care Supply Chain Dynamics to page 104
his year marks the 50th anniversary of a law that permitted health insurance companies to participate in Medicare. The law, known as the Social Security Amendments of 1972, permitted what was then a new form of health insurance, the health maintenance organization, to enroll Medicare beneficiaries. The law explicitly stated that HMOs could not be paid more per enrollee than Medicare would have paid if the enrollee had remained in the traditional Medicare program. In fact, Congress expected HMOs to reduce Medicare costs because, unlike traditional insurance companies, HMOs used managed care tactics to reduce utilization of medical services.
Medicare Advantage Overpayments to page 124
