The Medicare program wants to rein in the escalating costs associated with nursing homes, home healthcare and other services provided after an enrollee is discharged from the hospital, Kaiser Health News reported.
A mixed bag of payment methods leads to unnecessary spending on post-acute care, regional cost disparities and different rates for patients receiving similar care. For example, care for patients recovering from a stroke receives a higher payment rate than care for those recovering from other illnesses, according to FierceHealthFinance.
Nearly 75 percent of the wide variations in national Medicare spending can be traced back to post-acute care payments. To reduce unnecessary spending, Medicare is looking to bundled payments for post-acute care providers, with a set sum for patient care instead of separate payments. >> Read the full article at FierceHealthFinance