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Due to political pressure Donald Berwick resigned from his post as a Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) administrator.

Dr. Berwick was appointed by president Obama in 2010 during a congressional recess, effectively forcing his position to be reconfirmed by congress this year. Prior to this pending confirmation 42 Republican senators signed a letter pledging to block his confirmation, effectively ending any chance of him serving beyond 2011.

What is so wrong with Dr. Berwick? What did he do to make many republicans angry?

He praised the UK National Health Services when he was visiting the UK. He also made some comments that can be interpreted as rationing. Honestly I don’t know too much about the UK National Health Services. All I know that everyone gets basic medical care free of charge, and they have problems with waiting for advanced imaging and surgeries. I would say the first part is admirable, the second part no so much.

I am still puzzled the anger of congress regarding rationing. If you think about it healthcare rationing is a way of life in the US. We just call it Utilization Management in the case of insurance, Local Policy Determination in the case of Medicare. When we are considering Medicaid we simply have no doctors whom are willing to treat patients for the assigned cost. Our last group is the uninsureds, whom can’t afford insurance, therefore can’t afford healthcare. Presently in the US we are rationing by ability to pay.

I am a believer that Dr. Berwick would have made a difference in our health care system if congress gave him a chance to continiue on the path he already started.

Dr. Berwick came to CMS following enactment of the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In his 18-month tenure, Dr. Berwick supervised the rollout of essential health reform regulations that promised to reshape both the private insurance market and the Medicare program. CMS drafted rules for the new health insurance marketplaces, called exchanges, where Americans will be able to compare and buy health insurance plans in 2014. He is responsible for putting in place a pilot program to move Medicare away from paying doctors based on volume of services to quality of care.

Dr Berwick advocates patient centered care; hospital care that works with the needs of the patient; not the medical staff. He doesn’t want a patient or himself “to be made helpless before my time, to be made ignorant when I want to know, to be made to sit when I wish to stand, to be alone when I need to hold my wife’s hand, to eat what I do not wish to eat, to be named what I do not wish to be named, to be told when I wish to be asked, to be awoken when I wish to sleep.”

I am personally sad to see him go. His medical values and believes would significantly improved our overall health care.

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Nearly 388,000 nursing home residents’ deaths each year are attributed to infections. Approximately 25% of all hospitalizations of nursing home residents are caused by infections; the costs range from $673 million to $2 billion.

The FDA issued “black box” warnings against prescribing atypical antipsychotic drugs for patients with dementia, cautioning that the drugs increased dementia patients’ mortality. At the same time CMS reports that, nationwide, 39.4% of nursing home residents who had cognitive impairments and behavior problems but no diagnosis of psychosis or related conditions received antipsychotic drugs.

Use of chemical restraints is a major cause of nursing home falls, including hip fractures, which are estimated to cost $746.5 million.

Lack of toileting leads to urinary incontinence, in turn it leads to skin irritation, decubitus ulcers, urinary tract infections, and additional nursing home admission and hospitalization. Estimated cost $3.26 billion annually.

Poor hydration, along with poor nutrition, decreased mobility and cleanliness leads to pressure ulcers. Treatment costs are estimated to range between $1.2 and $12 billion.

Hospitalization of a dehydrated nursing home resident costs, on average, more than $18,000. Dehydration is often avoidable if residents are given more fluids. Insufficient staffing leads to less fluid intake by residents.

Three-quarters of all nursing home residents have at least one fall each year, and a quarter of the falls require medical attention. Twenty to thirty percent of the falls are preventable. Falls cost, on average, $19,440 and hip fractures, more than $35,000.

Poor care leads to excess hospitalizations, costing nearly $1 million.

Present plans by our government to fix nursing home expenses for Medicare and Medicaid patients:

Medicare-Medicaid Coordinating Office (MMCO) was established under the authority of the PPACA to address cost of care and improve access.

There are three initiatives in the works.

1. Capitated model – basically contracting with insurance companies to create a blended Medicare-Medicaid rate

2. Fee-for-service model- this model supposed to share savings from Medicare hospitalization reduction due to better quality care in dual eligible nursing home residents within each state.

3. Improved Care Quality for Nursing Facility Residents – this project plans to contract with independent entities to implement better practices to prevent conditions that leads to hospitalizations. The project aims to target 150 Skilled Nursing Facilities with high rate of hospitalizations. (Will observation be counted into these admissions?)

The real fix is simply having more nurses and nurse aides to provide better care.