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Interesting preliminary results from a statewide experiment Maryland launched last year (they put all of their hospitals on a budget; see this older thread: Maryland hospitals targeting HEALTH):
Hospitals save $100 million in Medicare costs
This is one to keep an eye on.
Hospitals save $100 million in Medicare costs
Maryland hospitals collectively generated more than $100 million in Medicare savings in the first year of an experimental payment system being watched closely by the federal government as a possible national model for reducing health care costs.
The state's medical institutions agreed last year to a five-year agreement with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It drastically changed the way they did business and aimed to curb costs, in part by reducing expensive hospital stays and handling more patient care at the doctor's office.
"Hospitals at the blink of an eye really changed their systems into something that hasn't been broadly tested before — and we are pleased with the first year results," said Carmela Coyle, CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association.
Hospital officials — and health care advocates — also contend that the new cost-cutting effort has not come at the expense of patient care.
The new agreement radically altered Maryland's reimbursement system. Rather than tying reimbursement to admissions, the new system gives hospitals a pool of money that will grow in tandem with the state's economy. . .
The state's hospitals were able to cut costs by better coordinating care with patients, Coyle said. That meant making sure they had prescriptions and follow-up doctor appointments before leaving the hospital. Care coordinators called patients after discharge to make sure they continued care.
"We begin to look at not just the clinical barriers to health, but the non-clinical barriers as well," Coyle said. "Sometimes what is preventing someone from doing well is the lack of transportation to be able to get to their doctor's appointments."
The hospitals also have reduced the hospital readmissions rate faster than the rest of the nation and cut infections and other hospital-acquired conditions by 26 percent, Coyle said.
This is one to keep an eye on.