May 22 I moderated a 90-minute seminar at the futuristic New York headquarters of Bloomberg BNA’s  parent company, Bloomberg L.P. The title of the seminar was “Health Care Reform With or Without the Affordable Care Act.”  It was sponsored by Bloomberg’s “BLAW” section, and about 100 attorneys attended, many of whom participated in the audience discussion.  

Speakers Elizabeth Halpern, a counsel in the Washington office of Hogan Lovells US LLP, Frank Serbaroli, a shareholder in the New York office of Greenberg Traurig LLP, and Carl Hittinger, a partner in the Philadelphia office of DLA Piper, all stressed that cost control is driving health care reform, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides.  

Elizabeth Halpern discussed the development of accountable care organizations, citing the need for them as an attempt to get away from fee-for-service medical pricing that creates incentives for providing a greater volume of services without coordination needed for better quality.  

Frank Serbaroli discussed ongoing emphasis by the government on prosecuting fraud and abuse cases, and Carl Hittinger told the audience that the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice are ramping up their oversight of hospital mergers, even in situations where a merger passed Hart-Scott-Rodino reviews, if the merger has not produced the savings initially touted.