Medicare Bundled-Payments Model Cut Joint Replacement Costs by More Than 20%
Bundled payment models can push
"This study outlines how one bundling participant achieved hospital and post-hospital discharge savings while reducing
In recent years, the
Results of the analysis revealed that for the 3,738 patients who received joint replacement surgery and had no significant pre-existing complications, the average cost of joint replacement plus 30 days' post-acute care (PAC) fell from
The cost reductions came chiefly from two sources:
- A 29 percent (
- A 27 percent (
BHS also saw a 67 percent decline in extended hospital stays, a validated measure of surgical complications, while the severity of patient conditions remained unchanged.
At the start of the study period in 2008,
Under these bundling models, the hospital system had an incentive to reduce its costs so that the total for each joint-replacement would fall below the
"On the whole, the health system's rapid achievement of savings through changes in a few key areas suggests that hospitals in the long run will be able to reduce costs in many areas, not only internally but through greater care coordination with external facilities," Navathe said. "There are still more savings on the table."
The findings also hint that such cost-reduction strategies won't work well unless they incentivize physicians as well as hospital managers. "It's striking that those costs fell only with the introduction of a bundled payment model that incentivized physicians too," Navathe said.
The research team is now analyzing the strategies
Since
CMS has committed to switching at least half of its reimbursements to alternative payment models by 2018.
Co-authors of the study were
Support for the study came in part from
30TagarumaMar-5735941 30TagarumaMar
Simi Valley police continue investigating fatal crash
2017 International Private Medical Insurance Inflation Report Released by Pacific Prime
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News