Exploring the Potential Benefits and Drawbacks of Acute-Care and Post-Acute Care Payment Bundling

Posted by Jason Greis on April 3, 2009 under Articles, Whitepapers | Be the First to Comment

The current Congressional fervor to overhaul the U.S. health care system has some policy makers discussing how to change the way post-acute providers, including LTACHs, home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and outpatient-based hospital rehabilitation facilities are compensated for treating Medicare beneficiaries.  One solution proposed by President Barack Obama, the Congressional Budget Office, and certain congressional leaders is to bundle payments for acute care and post-acute care services provided within the first thirty days after being discharged from an acute care hospital.  This bundling model has been proposed many times since the early 1980s as a measure to control escalating post-acute care costs, decrease the number of preventable acute-care hospital readmissions, and increase Medicare cost savings but has never received broad support-until now. Read More...

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New York Set to Slash Medicaid Spending for the 2009-10 Fiscal Year

Posted by Jason Greis on December 17, 2008 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

Governor David Paterson released a budget proposal on December 16, 2008 that would significantly reduce New York’s Medicaid spending, while raising more than $1 billion in assessments on hospitals (including LTACHs), other healthcare providers and health insurers.  A Press Release issued by The Healthcare Education Project (a venture between the Greater New York Hospital Association and SEIU Local 1199) estimated potential Medicaid payment cuts of $1.4 billion dollars to hospitals for the 2009-10 fiscal year.  The proposed budget also seeks to raise more than $1 billion in fees, surcharges and assessments on health care providers and insurers, in part, by imposing a a 0.7 percent assessment on hospital inpatient revenues and creating a new $49 million surcharge on procedures performed by physicians in office-based and urgent care settings. Read More...

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