Regardless of High Court, no return to old days for parts of health system (NPR)

The Affordable Care Act might be at risk of going away, but some of its changes to the health care industry aren’t. “We’re far enough into the revolution now that I don’t see how the political leadership can completely sweep it away,” said Brad Wilson, CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. The “revolution” is accountable care organizations. “No question the Medicare legislation on this issue has led to more adoption of these payment forms,” said Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare under President George W. Bush. However, savings to the consumer are not guaranteed. “The ACO may in fact be able to manage care more efficiently, but that doesn’t mean those savings are going to be passed on,” said Glenn Melnick, a health economist at University of Southern California. “You may have consumers getting less service at higher prices.”