Association of the Comprehensive End-Stage Renal Disease Care Model With Medicare Payments and Quality of Care for Beneficiaries With End-Stage Renal Disease

Abstract

Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are a medically complex group accounting for less than 1% of the Medicare population but more than 7% of Medicare fee-for-service payments. To evaluate the association of the Comprehensive End-Stage Renal Disease Care (CEC) model with Medicare payments, health care use, and quality of care. In this economic evaluation, a difference-in-differences design estimated the change in outcomes for 73 094 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aligned to CEC dialysis facilities between the baseline (from January 2014 to March 2015) and intervention periods (from October 2015 to December 2017) relative to 60 464 beneficiaries at matched dialysis facilities. In the CEC model, dialysis facilities, nephrologists, and other providers partner to form ESRD Seamless Care Organizations (ESCOs), specialty-oriented accountable care organizations that coordinate care for beneficiaries with ESRD. ESCOs with expenditures below a benchmark set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are eligible to share in savings if they meet quality thresholds. A total of 685 dialysis facilities affiliated with 37 ESCOs participated in the CEC model as of January 2017. Thirteen ESCOs joined the CEC model on October 1, 2015 (wave 1), and 24 ESCOs joined on January 1, 2017 (wave 2). Patients with ESRD who were aligned with CEC dialysis facilities were compared with patients at matched dialysis facilities. Medicare total and service-specific payments per beneficiary per month; hospitalizations, readmissions, and emergency department visits; and select quality measures. Relative to the comparison group (n = 60 464; 55% men; mean [SD] age, 63.5 [14.4] years), total Medicare payments for CEC beneficiaries (n = 73 094; 56% men; mean [SD] age, 63.0 [14.4] years) decreased by $114 in payments per beneficiary per month (95% CI, -$202 to -$26; P = .01), associated primarily with decreases in payments for hospitalizations and readmissions. Payment reductions were offset by shared savings payments to ESCOs, resulting in net losses of $78 in payments per beneficiary per month (95% CI, -$8 to $164; P = .07). Relative to the comparison group, CEC beneficiaries had 5.01 fewer hospitalizations per 1000 beneficiaries per month (95% CI, -8.45 to -1.56; P = .004), as well as fewer catheter placements (CEC beneficiaries with catheter as vascular access for periods longer than 90 days decreased by 0.78 percentage points [95% CI, -1.36 to -0.19; P = .01]) and fewer hospitalizations for ESRD complications (CEC beneficiaries were 0.11 percentage points less likely [95% CI, -0.20 to -0.02; P = .01] to be hospitalized in a given month). Total dialysis sessions and payments increased, suggesting improved adherence to dialysis treatments. Early findings from the CEC model demonstrate that a specialty accountable care organization model focused on a particular population was associated with reduced payments and improved quality of care. Future research can assess the longer-term outcomes of the CEC model and its applicability to populations with other complex chronic conditions.