GUEST VIEW: A Medicare reform could save lives and dollars

By Dr. Michael P. Ast

Medicare pays for about 8 million surgeries each year, from joint replacements and spinal fusions to open-heart bypasses. To ensure that seniors get the best follow-up care possible — and thus avoid expensive complications — Medicare officials are about to roll out a new payment model.

In essence, the reform puts hospitals on the hook for medical expenses patients incur within 30 days after they are discharged. This will give hospitals skin in the game, incentivizing them to not only perform the surgeries well but also provide patients with all the wound care, pain management and physical therapy needed to ensure a healthy recovery.

But in practice, this proposal will only succeed if Congress intervenes and gives hospitals permission to continue using one of their