will allow the government to cap medicare costs and put the hospitals at risk

rapidly approved without most people realizing that it will redistribute funds from high-cost hospitals to low-cost ones

trying to provide incentives for hospitals and physicians to keep costs down--hospitals get to keep whatever they don’t spend of the DRG-based price--incentive to lower prices and/or underserve patients

requiered peer review--paid for by the government

bill was tacked onto social security reform and shoved through very quickly

initially a rural and urban DRG for each of 9 cencus areas

prospecitve payment for hospital costs not outpatient or capital expenses at first

increase in payments to teaching hospitals to compensate for presumed DRG reduced payments

some funding for exceptional cases but rather strict

government’s next step is to pay phsyicians on a DRG scale