The Lewin Group, Inc.
The Lewin Group, Inc.
Grant Status
Completed
Project Title
Bending the Cost Curve in New York
Award Amount
$399,981
Location
Falls Church, Virginia
Website
Date Awarded
July 21, 2009
Many effective strategies exist for reducing health care costs, but systemwide analysis and comparison of different policy options have not been completed for New York State. To provide policymakers with a roadmap to enact promising proposals, the Lewin Group (Lewin) will conduct a New York State analysis to identify areas of inefficiency, excess utilization, and unhealthy behaviors and develop State-specific estimates of the impact of different policy options. The New York State study will be based upon and undertaken by the team who conducted the national study, “Bending the Curve: Options for Achieving Savings and Improving Value in U.S. Health Spending.”
A 2007 Lewin national study using modeling found that health policy reform options could save an estimated $1.5 trillion over 10 years, which would offset the cost of expanding health insurance coverage to all. To successfully realize potential savings in New York State, Lewin will adapt the model to analyze regional data. Lewin will identify areas for improvement and policy options for consideration through consultation with a Technical Advisory Panel of experts from New York State. Examples of potential policy include: changing the structure of financial incentives for both hospitals and physicians to encourage following evidence-based guidelines and to ensure more efficient care; emphasizing primary care services to support preventive care and avoid costly emergency care; and using tax incentives to encourage enrollment in lower cost plans. Lewin will develop estimates of the savings of each of the 10 policy options suggested in collaboration with the Technical Advisory Panel by using its established simulation model. Through consultation with key stakeholders in New York State, Lewin will determine the feasibility of implementing various policies and ultimately will develop implementation plans for the most viable options. Policymakers will be able to use the findings of this report to assess concrete approaches to reduce health spending in New York State.