On May 12, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report projecting that the national health care reform law will save Medicare $120 billion through 2015.  The authors estimate that $55 billion of those savings will be realized through reformed provider reimbursements, designed to reward quality care and efficiency.  HHS projects that an additional $50 billion will be realized through reduced payments to insurance companies while $1.8 billion will come from reductions in fraud and abuse

From the report:

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Obama Administration are committed to strengthening Medicare, improving the health of seniors and the quality of the care they receive, and lowering costs.

The Affordable Care Act provides a breadth of new tools to help Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers. CMS has already implemented a wide array of quality improvements and delivery system efficiencies: providing new preventive benefits, tying payment to quality standards, investing in patient safety, and offering new incentives for providers who deliver high-quality, coordinated care. These reforms lay the foundation for a broad reform of our health care delivery system. At the same time, CMS has also taken a series of actions independent of the health reform law that are aimed at saving money for taxpayers and beneficiaries and improving the quality of care.

Full Report: Strengthening Medicare: Better Health, Better Care, Lower Costs (PDF | 32 KB)

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. (2011). Strengthening Medicare: better health, better care, lower costs.