Deciphering

the Affordable Care Act One Year Later: Implications for Music Therapy
Daniel Tague and Hakeem Leonard

Background
I.
Signed into law-March 23, 2010
a. Key Aspects
b. Important Milestones
c. Challenges
d. Possible Positives
1) Boost to employer-based wellness programs.
2) Hospital Value-based Purchasing (Rau, 2013):
Quality of Healthcare
3) Medicaid habilitative money increased (MT through Medicaid
waiver programs).
4) Patient satisfaction (HCAHPS Survey)
II.
Current State of Affairs: Areas of Interest
a. Employer-based Wellness Programs
b. Health Exchange Marketplace (Is increased health care access positive
for music therapy?)
i. Increased Access
ii. High Deductible Plans
1. Examples
c. Habilitation- (Did habilitative services create a positive outcome for
music therapy?)
d. Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) (Are there positive
implications of HVBP for music therapy?)
i. Understanding HVBP and Patient Satisfaction
ii. Music Therapy and HCAHPs
iii. Resources for Understanding HCAHPs
1. (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, 2014; The
Commonwealth Fund, 2014)
e. Other Queries and Information
i. Internships
ii. Hospice VBP
iii. Political Climate
Recommendations
1) Monitor VBP for Hospice
2) For program proposals, look up hospital HCAHP survey scores on
Hospital Compare.
3) Keep an eye out and network to see if hospitals are taking patient
satisfaction seriously
4) Understand the application of the ACA in your state and give families
recommendations for pay for and access services
5) Understand the preventative services clients have access to and
encourage them to receive them


References

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and preventive care in high-deductible and consumer-directed health plans.
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2014). CAHPS Hospice Survey.
Retrieved from
http://www.hospicecahpssurvey.org/Documents/DRAFT_Pending_OMB_Ap
proval_CAHPS_Hospice_Survey_Mail_Materials_(ENGLISH)_9_24_2014.pdf
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2014). Hospital Compare. Retrieved
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2014b). Preventative Care Benefits.
Retrieved from https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-benefits/
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/us/unable-to-meet-the-deductible-
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http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/15/245254951/medicare-

penalizes-nearly-1-500-hospitals-for-poor-quality-scores
The Commonwealth Fund. (2014). Why Not the Best? Retrieved from:
http://www.whynotthebest.org
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Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?packageId=BILLS-

111hr3590enr