Medicare

ADVANCE CARE PLANNING AMONG MEDICARE FEE-FOR-SERVICE BENEFICIARIES AND PRACTITIONERS: FINAL REPORT Fang He, PhD, Angela Gasdaska, BS, Hannah Friedman, BA, Brendan Wedehas, BS, Alexis Kirk, PhD, Ila Broyles, PhD, and SaritaL.

Beginning in mid-March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on health care utilization. The impact on patients, their families and the health care system was significant.

As required by the IMPACT Act, the second Report to Congress examines the effect of individuals’ social risk factors on quality measures, resource use, and other measures under the Medicare program, as well as analyses of the effects of Medicare’s current value-based payment programs on providers serving socially at-risk beneficiaries and simulations of potential policy options to address these

This document provides highlights of the evaluation of the Support and Services at Home (SASH) program for the first years of the program (2010-2016). The SASH program in Vermont is a promising approach to providing support services and care coordination to older adults and individuals with disabilities, using affordable housing properties as a platform for service delivery.

By statute, the majority of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are eligible for Medicare, regardless of age. Kidney transplantation is ultimately considered the best treatment for ESRD, but ESRD-related eligibility for Medicare coverage extends for only 36 months post-transplant.

Between 1996 and 2013, there was a 54% decrease in the incidence of diabetes-related end-stage renal disease (ESRD-DM) in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/ AN) populations. This decline has occurred since the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) was established in 1997.

Medicare beneficiaries in inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) have complex conditions that require sustained engagement with physical and mental health care providers. People who receive care from IPFs are at risk for a range of negative health outcomes, but surprisingly little is known about their patterns of care.

This study conducted exploratory analyses to develop a better understanding of community-admitted Medicare home health patients, including whether there have been any differential trends between community-admitted and post-acute care (PAC) patients over time and what their patterns of care tell us about the underlying reasons for the community-admitted increased numbers.

The objectives of this research effort were to collect feedback through interviews with physicians in small rural practices on the initial implementation of Medicare’s Quality Payment Program in 2017, a new value-based purchasing program for Medicare physicians.

This study examines hospice ownership in detail by going beyond the general distinction of for-profit or not-for-profit and considers the extent to which regional or national chains have entered the hospice provider market and how the populations they care for and the services they provide might be distinct from other types of hospice agencies.