Modernizing Medicare Funding for Nurse Education
With policies rooted in the 1960s, it’s time to change how Medicare pays for nurse education. In a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective, LDI Senior Fellow Linda Aiken and colleagues present a compelling case for funding a new consortium model that trains nurse practitioners (NPs) in the community settings where they are a crucial source of primary care.
Comparison Of Hospitals Participating In Medicare’s Voluntary And Mandatory Orthopedic Bundle Programs
Amol S. Navathe, Joshua M. Liao, Daniel Polsky, Yash...
Abstract [from journal]
We analyzed data from Medicare and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey to compare characteristics and baseline performance among hospitals in Medicare’s voluntary (Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative, or BPCI) and mandatory (Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, or CJR) joint replacement bundled payment programs. BPCI hospitals had higher mean patient volume and were larger and more teaching intensive than were CJR hospitals, but the two groups had similar risk exposure and baseline episode quality and cost. BPCI hospitals...
Looking Ahead at Medicaid: Work Requirements and Other Big Changes
Trends in hospital-SNF relationships in the care of Medicare beneficiaries
Joshua M. Liao, R. Tamara Konetzka, Rachel M. Werner
Abstract [from journal]
Improving the value of post-acute care at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) has become a Medicare policy priority. Anecdotally, hospitals have responded by formally acquiring or pursuing tighter informal connections with SNFs. We evaluated the trend in connections between US acute care hospitals and Medicare-certified SNFs between 2000 and 2013 using vertical integration and two novel network-based measures (number of SNF partners, and...
Rates of Hospital Readmission Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Gastrointestinal Bleeding Vary Based on Etiology and Comorbidities
Abstract [from journal]
Background & Aims: Gastrointestinal bleeding results in significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs in the United States. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' payment reform programs assess quality and value based on rates of hospital readmission for patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, but they identify these patients using Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRGs), which include many types of gastrointestinal bleeding and do not account for the clinical heterogeneity among these patients. We aimed...
Where Patients Go After Hospital Discharge: Trends in Post-Acute Care
As the largest single source of health care spending, hospitals have drawn considerable attention from policymakers. Efforts to reduce costs have led to decreased lengths of hospital stays, but far less attention has been paid to where those patients go immediately after discharge. Medicare payment reforms implemented in the wake of the Affordable Care Act, such as hospital readmissions penalties and bundled payments, have made hospitals accountable for care beyond their walls, including institutional post-acute care.
Prior Authorization Requirements for Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Inhibitors Across US Private and Public Payers
A comprehensive review of prior authorization (PA) requirements for a new class of expensive cholesterol-lowering drugs known as proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors has found unusually complex and burdensome demands across public and private insurance plans in the United States. These findings raise concerns that current policies may create undue barriers to care even in medically appropriate patients, particularly since requirements were just as stringent for patients with a genetic condition that creates more clear-cut eligibility for PCSK9 inhibitor treatment.
Characteristics of Hospitals Earning Savings in the First Year of Mandatory Bundled Payment for Hip and Knee Surgery
Amol S. Navathe, Joshua M. Liao, Yash Shah, Zoe Lyon, Paula ...
In JAMA, Amol Navathe and LDI colleagues Joshua Liao, Paula Chatterjee, Dan Polsky, and Ezekiel Emanuel examine hospital savings and quality results for the first year of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment program. Since April 2016, Medicare has bundled payments for hip and knee replacements at 799 hospitals through CJR. The program incentivizes quality and cost containment by providing retrospective bonus payments that increase as hospitals exceed their cost and quality benchmarks, or imposing penalties if hospitals fall short. While the CJR...
The Effect of Integration of Hospitals and Post-Acute Care Providers on Medicare Payment and Patient Outcomes
Vertical integration between hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) increases Medicare payments for the first 60 days of care by $2,424 (17%), compared to hospital-SNF pairs that are not vertically integrated. These integrated hospital–SNF pairs also experience a decline in 30-day rates of rehospitalization or death of 5 percentage points on a base rate of 31.3%. Vertical integration between hospitals and home health agencies (HHAs) has little effect on Medicare payments and patient outcomes, nor does informal integration in either setting.
The 340B Program Hits a Crisis Point
As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implement nearly $1.6 billion in cuts to the 340B Drug Pricing Program, a new study looks at the consequences of the program, and questions whether it has had its intended effect of helping safety-net hospitals serve poor and vulnerable populations.
What’s In A Name: Will BPCI-Advanced Hold Back Or Advance Bundled Payment Policy?
[Reposted: Amol S. Navathe, Rebecca E. Anastos-Wallen, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Joshua M. Liao.
Expanding Coverage: Penn LDI’s New Research Partnership
Association of Patient Out-of-Pocket Costs With Prescription Abandonment and Delay in Fills of Novel Oral Anticancer Agents
High out-of-pocket (OOP) costs may limit access to novel oral cancer medications. In a retrospective study, nearly one third of patients whose OOP costs were $100 to $500 and nearly half of patients whose OOP costs were more than $2,000 failed to pick up their new prescription for an oral cancer medication, compared to 10% of patients who were required to pay less than $10 at the time of purchase. Delays in picking up prescriptions were also more frequent among patients facing higher OOP costs.
Association of high cost sharing and targeted therapy initiation among elderly Medicare patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma
Pengxiang (Alex) Li, Yu-Ning Wong, Jordan Jahnke, Amy R. Pettit, and Jalpa A. Doshi
In Cancer Medicine, Pengxiang (Alex) Li and colleagues, including Jalpa Doshi, explore whether high out-of-pocket costs limit access to oral therapies for Medicare patients newly diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Using 2011–2013 Medicare claims, the investigators identified 1,721 patients newly diagnosed with metastases in the liver, lung, or bone. They compared low-income Medicare Part D beneficiaries (who had low out-of-pocket costs due to...