Medicare reimbursement attributable to catheter-associated urinary tract infection in the inpatient setting: a retrospective cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Most catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are considered preventable and thus a potential target for health care quality improvement and cost savings. OBJECTIVES: We sought to estimate excess Medicare reimbursement, length of stay, and inpatient death associated with CAUTI among hospitalized beneficiaries. RESEARCH DESIGN: Using a retrospective cohort design with linked Medicare inpatient claims and National Healthcare Safety Network data from 2009, we compared Medicare reimbursement between Medicare beneficiaries with and without CAUTIs. SUBJECTS: Fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older with continuous coverage of parts A (hospital insurance) and B (supplementary medical insurance). RESULTS: We found that beneficiaries with CAUTI had higher median Medicare reimbursement [intensive care unit (ICU): $8548, non-ICU: $1479) and length of stay (ICU: 8.1 d, non-ICU: 3.6 d) compared with those without CAUTI controlling for potential confounding factors. Odds of inpatient death were higher among beneficiaries with versus without CAUTI only among those with an ICU stay (ICU: odds ratio 1.37). CONCLUSIONS: Beneficiaries with CAUTI had increased Medicare reimbursement and length of stay compared with those without CAUTI after adjusting for potential confounders.

Developing a viable alternative to Medicare's physician payment strategy.

Since 1992 Medicare has reimbursed physicians on a fee-for-service basis that weights physician services according to the effort and expense of providing those services and converts the weights to dollars using a conversion factor. In 1997 Congress replaced an existing spending constraint with the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) to reduce reimbursements if overall physician spending exceeded the growth in the economy. Congress, however, has routinely overridden the SGR because of concerns that reduced payments to physicians would limit patients' access to care. Under continued pressure to override scheduled fee reductions or eliminate the SGR altogether, Congress is now considering legislation that would reimburse physicians to improve quality and lower costs-two things that the current system does not do. This article reviews several promising models, including patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, and various payment bundling pilots, that could offer lessons for a larger reform of physician payment. Pilot projects that focus exclusively on alternative ways to reimburse physicians apart from payments to hospitals, such as payments for episodes of care, are also needed. Most promising, Congress is now showing bipartisan, bicameral interest in revising how Medicare reimburses physicians.

Non-assigned Medicare payment increases practice revenue & lowers Medicare costs.

Private practice physicians can increase practice revenue and also save Medicare money. What seems like a paradox is instead a choice. The non-assigned Medicare payment option allows physicians to bill 8% more for their services. This also decreases Medicare payment 5%. Selecting the non-assigned payment method does not require permission from Medicare or any Medicare contractor. This is a physician decision and for 2014 must be made between mid-November and year end 2013.

Regulatory neutrality is essential to establishing a level playing field for accountable care organizations.

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are among the most widely discussed models for encouraging movement away from fee-for-service payment arrangements. Although ACOs have the potential to slow health spending growth and improve quality of care, regulating them poses special challenges. Regulations, particularly those that affect both ACOs and Medicare Advantage plans, could inadvertently favor or disfavor certain kinds of providers or payers. Such favoritism could drive efficient organizations from the market and thus increase costs or reduce quality of and access to care. To avoid this type of outcome, we propose a general principle: Regulation of ACOs should strive to preserve a level playing field among different kinds of organizations seeking the same cost, quality, and access objectives. This is known as regulatory neutrality. We describe the implications of regulatory neutrality in four key areas: antitrust, financial solvency regulation, Medicare governance requirements, and Medicare payment models. We also discuss issues relating to short-term versus long-term perspectives--to promote the goal of regulatory neutrality and allow the most efficient organizations to prevail in the marketplace.

Two-thirds of primary care physicians accepted new Medicaid patients in 2011-12: a baseline to measure future acceptance rates.

As part of the Affordable Care Act, primary care physicians providing services to patients insured through Medicaid in some states will receive higher payments in 2013 and 2014 than in the past. Payments for some services will increase to match Medicare rates. This change may lead to wider acceptance of new Medicaid patients among primary care providers. Using data from the 2011-12 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Electronic Medical Records Supplement, I summarize baseline rates of acceptance of new Medicaid patients among office-based physicians by specialty and practice type. I also report state-level acceptance rates for both primary care and other physicians. About 33 percent of primary care physicians (those in general and family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics) did not accept new Medicaid patients in 2011-12, ranging from a low of 8.9 percent in Minnesota to a high of 54.0 percent in New Jersey. Primary care physicians in New Jersey, California, Alabama, and Missouri were less likely than the national average to accept new Medicaid patients in 2011-12. The data presented here provide a baseline for comparison of new Medicaid acceptance rates in 2013-14.

Post-acute care and ACOs - who will be accountable?

OBJECTIVE: To determine how the inclusion of post-acute evaluation and management (E&M) services as primary care affects assignment of Medicare beneficiaries to accountable care organizations (ACOs). DATA SOURCES: Medicare claims for a random 5 percent sample of 2009 Medicare beneficiaries linked to American Medical Association Group Practice data identifying provider groups sufficiently large to be eligible for ACO program participation. STUDY DESIGN: We calculated the fraction of community-dwelling beneficiaries whose assignment shifted, as a consequence of including post-acute E&M services, from the group providing their outpatient primary care to a different group providing their inpatient post-acute care. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Assignment shifts occurred for 27.6 percent of 25,992 community-dwelling beneficiaries with at least one post-acute skilled nursing facility stay, and they were more common for those incurring higher Medicare spending. Those whose assignment shifted constituted only 1.3 percent of all community-dwelling beneficiaries cared for by large ACO-eligible organizations (n = 535,138), but they accounted for 8.4 percent of total Medicare spending for this population. CONCLUSIONS: Under current Medicare assignment rules, ACOs may not be accountable for an influential group of post-acute patients, suggesting missed opportunities to improve care coordination and reduce inappropriate readmissions.

The right patient.

This article offers professional opinions and advice on how physicians should prepare in order to protect themselves and their practices during this turbulent time in healthcare reform. This article presents real-life scenarios to help physicians understand what they may face and what actions they should take in anticipation of the future in healthcare. The article focuses on the concept of "the right patient," defining the characteristics of patients that benefit the financial aspect of a practice and those who do not. Its purpose is not to encourage physicians to deny care to patients who are poorly insured or uninsured, but to guide in the establishment of a smart and safe balance between the two. Strategies are discussed on how to attract the right patient and what these patients mean to the practice. The importance of practice marketing is also highlighted, along with an emphasis on the necessity of change in order to survive in the future healthcare environment.

Medicare beneficiary access to primary care physicians--better in rural, but still worrisome.

Primary care is the foundation of the rural U.S. health care system. Thus, the willingness of rural primary care physicians to accept new Medicare patients is critically important to the Medicare program and to rural America's elderly. But universally consistent access to primary care physicians for Medicare beneficiaries may be in jeopardy. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) reports that the percentage of family physicians accepting new Medicare patients declined from 84% in 2000 to 73% in 2008. Urban family physicians accepted new Medicare patients at a lower rate (70%) than did rural family physicians (83%). In this policy brief, we use results from a large national physician survey to assess U.S. primary care physician and general surgeon willingness to accept Medicare patients. We also assess physician-reported reasons for not accepting Medicare patients.

Medicare program; establishing additional Medicare durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) supplier enrollment safeguards. Final rule.

This final rule will clarify, expand, and add to the existing enrollment requirements that Durable Medical Equipment and Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers must meet to establish and maintain billing privileges in the Medicare program.