Guest post by Cheri Bankston, RN, MSN, director of clinical advisory services, Curaspan.
Cheri Bankston
When determining a discharge plan, hospitals must provide a list of home health agencies (HHAs) or skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that are available to care for the patient; this comes as part of the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for Discharge Planning. In the case of a HHA, the provider must be able to serve the patient in the area where the patient resides, or in the case of a SNF, the area requested by the patient.
Acute care providers have been struggling on how to set up a high quality provider network to support patient choice as we move from volume to value. Provider networks aim to gather more information to assist beneficiaries with selecting a high-quality post-acute provider. CMS has not outlined any specific criterion that deems a provider “high quality,” but the end goal is to provide the patient more information on quality performance and resource use at the time they are making a decision. Through the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ (CMS) Star Rating program, discharge planners or case managers working for hospitals are able to highlight those provider networks that will best fit the needs of the patient. The networks are able to counsel patients about their available choices, while more importantly upholding the patient’s right to choose.
Under the Affordable Care Act’s value-based purchasing initiative, hospitals are at financial risk for the outcomes of care its patients receive from post-acute care providers, leading hospitals to work towards establishing high-quality provider networks. For many, upholding the standard of Medicare policy – patient freedom of choice – is challenged by potential financial incentives and penalties for the bottom line – the quality of care provided to the patient after discharge impacts the reimbursement levels for hospitals and ACOs. Although provider networks may appear to narrow patient choice, they actually create a set of higher quality post-acute providers that improve patient outcomes without impeding access to care.
Payers have been using “provider networks” for years, but being applied to hospitals is a brand new concept. An ACO’s success depends on using a provider network that has a demonstrated history of high quality of care outcomes. For example, SNFs that have a high rate of patients going to emergency rooms and not being admitted must be evaluated to determine the variance from other providers with the same level of care and fewer emergency room visits. Quality outcomes and patient satisfaction are going to drive the definition of provider networks.
Guest post by Cheri Bankston, director of clinical advisory services, Curaspan.
Cheri Bankston
As physicians across large and small practices struggle to prepare for the many payment reforms under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt recently suggested that MACRA could be delayed from its intended Jan. 1, 2017, start date. He also proposed that reporting requirements may be adjusted to ease the burdens on physicians. For example, data and measurements could be potentially submitted through an automated method.
MACRA is expected to greatly transform how Medicare pays for physicians and other clinicians who participate in the fee-for-service program. Under MACRA, payment changes will be split into a two-track system for Medicare reimbursement:
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is for providers who operate using fee-for-service reimbursements. This new program combines parts of the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), the Value Modifier (VM), and the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive program into one single program for participants.
Alternate Payment Model (APM) is for physicians who take on a significant caseload of patients. New payment models enable health care providers to be paid by Medicare. From 2019 to 2024, CMS may pay some participating health care providers a lump sum incentive payment.
How This May Impact You
Working with physicians and understanding their business model is the core of transition management, especially for physicians who are providing care to patients in the Fee-for-Service program. With a deeper understanding, it is easier to foster a more collaborative and effective relationship. Hospitals have been paid a lump sum since the early ‘80s, but it is important to recognize that some physicians and physician groups do have patients enrolled in bundled payment models and others who are not. So how important is it for case managers to know how a physician is paid? For a case manager to properly perform their job, they must know how the business of health care functions.
Guest post by Cheri Bankston, RN, MSN, director of clinical advisory services, Curaspan.
Cheri Bankston
When determining a discharge plan, hospitals must provide a list of home health agencies (HHAs) or skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that are available to care for the patient; this comes as part of the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for Discharge Planning. In the case of a HHA, the provider must be able to serve the patient in the area where the patient resides, or in the case of a SNF, the area requested by the patient.
Acute care providers have been struggling on how to set up a high-quality provider network to support patient choice as we move from volume to value. Provider networks aim to gather more information to assist beneficiaries with selecting a high-quality post-acute provider. CMS has not outlined any specific criterion that deems a provider “high quality,” but the end goal is to provide the patient more information on quality performance and resource use at the time they are making a decision Through the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ (CMS) Star Rating program, discharge planners or case managers working for hospitals are able to highlight those provider networks that will best fit the needs of the patient. The networks are able to counsel patients about their available choices, while more importantly upholding the patient’s right to choose.
Under the Affordable Care Act’s value-based purchasing initiative, hospitals are at financial risk for the outcomes of care its patients receive from post-acute care providers, leading hospitals to work towards establishing high-quality provider networks. For many, upholding the standard of Medicare policy – patient freedom of choice – is challenged by potential financial incentives and penalties for the bottom line – the quality of care provided to the patient after discharge impacts the reimbursement levels for hospitals and ACOs. Although provider networks may appear to narrow patient choice, they actually create a set of higher quality post-acute providers that improve patient outcomes without impeding access to care.
Payers have been using “provider networks” for years, but being applied to hospitals is a brand new concept. An ACO’s success depends on using a provider network that has a demonstrated history of high quality of care outcomes. For example, SNFs that have a high rate of patients going to emergency rooms and not being admitted must be evaluated to determine the variance from other providers with the same level of care and fewer emergency room visits. Quality outcomes and patient satisfaction are going to drive the definition of provider networks.
