Value-Based Purchasing Program Research Articles

The Stability of Physician-Specific Episode Costs for Urologic Cancer Surgery: Implications for Urologists Under the Merit-Based Incentive Program

ObjectiveTo evaluate the stability of physician-specific episode payments for prostatectomy, nephrectomy, and cystectomy in the context of value-based purchasing programs, such as the merit-based incentive payment system. MethodsWe utilized Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare data to identify patients aged 66-99 who underwent a prostatectomy, nephrectomy, or cystectomy from 2008 to 2012. We calculated each surgeon's average 90-day episode payment by procedure. Next, we examined payment differences between the most and least expensive quartile providers. For the most expensive quartile of physicians in 2010, we examined their spending quartile in 2011. Finally, we evaluated the correlation in spending over time and across procedures. ResultsWe identified 14,585 patients who underwent surgery by one of 1895 unique clinicians. Differences in payments between the highest and lowest quartiles were $5881, $17,714, and $40,288 for prostatectomy, nephrectomy, and cystectomy, respectively. Only 39%, 16%, and 13% of physicians that were in the highest spending quartile for prostatectomy, nephrectomy, and cystectomy in 2010 were also in the most expensive quartile in 2011. Although we observed weak correlation in year-to-year spending for prostatectomy (0.108, P = .033 to .270, P < .001), annual payments for nephrectomy and cystectomy were not significantly correlated. Finally, there was minimal correlation in surgeon spending across procedures. ConclusionThere is wide variation in physician-specific episode payments for prostatectomy, nephrectomy, and cystectomy. However, physician spending patterns are not stable over time or across procedures, raising concerns about the ability of the cost-based measures in merit-based incentive payment system to change physician behavior and reliably distinguish those providing less efficient or lower quality care.

Value-based purchasing may unfairly penalize specialty centers performing combined liver–colon multivisceral resections

Background Some of the measures in value-based purchasing programs may be flawed due to inadequate risk adjustment. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the surgical casemix on surgical site infection rates using combined colectomy–hepatectomy resections as a test case. Methods We identified all adult patients undergoing elective colon surgery (2007–2013) in the National Inpatient Sample. We defined patients with a concurrent liver resection as “multivisceral resections.” Cases from each hospital were pooled by hospital identifier. The association between surgical site infection rate and the proportion of multivisceral resections performed was compared statistically. Findings were further tested for independence against hospital-level characteristics similar to risk-adjusted surgical site infection rate reporting. Results We identified 1014 hospitals performing 127,646 colon surgeries including 1168 (0.9%) multivisceral resections. The overall surgical site infection rate for multivisceral resection was 11.3% versus 1.6% for colectomy-only resections (p &lt; 0.001). Simple linear regression demonstrated a 2.3% increase in a hospital’s surgical site infection rate for each 1% increase in the proportion of multivisceral resections performed. Multivariable linear regression demonstrated a preserved association. Conclusion A hospital’s rate of surgical site infections is positively associated with the proportion of multivisceral resections performed. Value-based purchasing programs should assess readily available data for further risk-adjustment inclusion.

Observations on the Medicare Value-Based Ranking of Hospitals During Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016.

Medicare's Value-Based Purchasing Program (VBPP) compensates hospitals based on value of care provided. VBPP's total performance score (TPS) components data were evaluated by hospital groups: physician-owned surgical hospitals (POSH), Kaiser Hospitals, University HealthSystem Consortium Hospitals, Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Hospitals, US News and World Report Honor Roll Hospitals, and other hospitals. Multilevel random coefficient models estimated mean and significance of TPS differences from fiscal year (FY) 2015 and FY 2016, by hospital type. Overall mean TPS for 2985 hospitals decreased from 41.65 to 40.25. POSH and Kaiser Hospitals had significantly higher TPS in FY 2015 and FY 2016. POSH Patient Experience Domain scores exceeded all other Patient Experience Domain scores. The Efficiency Domain scores of Kaiser greatly exceeded the scores of all groups. Results suggest that POSH and Kaiser Hospitals provide significantly greater value of care with consistency from year to year when compared with other groups studied.

The Impact of Hospitalists on Value-Based Purchasing Program Scores

As part of the provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services adjusts payments made to hospitals through its Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program. In light of the increasing aim to improve efficiency, healthcare organizations are exploring innovative strategies for care delivery, including the use of hospitalists. Supporters of the hospitalist model suggest use of these specialists offers several advantages over the traditional model of physician care in the inpatient setting, including improved coordination, reduced costs, and improved quality indicator scores. This study explores the effect of hospitalists on hospitals' scores in the four domains of the fiscal year 2016 HVBP program: clinical process of care, patient experience of care (PEOC), outcome, and efficiency. Data from the 2015 HVBP database, the 2015 Medicare Final Rule Standardizing File, and the 2015 American Hospital Association database were used for the analysis. The study used multivariate regression analysis in Stata 12. Results from this study suggest that hospitals employing a higher percentage of hospitalists see related improvement in their overall total performance score. In light of improvements within the PEOC, outcome, and efficiency scores, it would appear that hospitalists are primarily providing linking services, which helps provide better coordination of care that is otherwise lacking in more traditionally fragmented approaches to care.

Medicare Payment Penalties and Safety Net Hospital Profitability: Minimal Impact on These Vulnerable Hospitals.

To examine relationships between penalties assessed by Medicare's Hospital Readmission Reduction Program and Value-Based Purchasing Program and hospital financial condition. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, American Hospital Association, and Area Health Resource File data for 4,824 hospital-year observations. Bivariate and multivariate analysis of pooled cross-sectional data. Safety net hospitals have significantly higher HRRP/VBP penalties, but, unlike nonsafety net hospitals, increases in their penalty rate did not significantly affect their total margins. Safety net hospitals appear to rely on nonpatient care revenues to offset higher penalties for the years studied. While reassuring, these funding streams are volatile and may not be able to compensate for cumulative losses over time.

Improving the quality of patient experience through student engagement.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established the hospital value-based purchasing program, which began in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and applies to incentive payments to hospitals based on the quality of care provided to patients.[1][1] The quality of patient experience provided is captured

Impact of Financial Incentives on Early and Late Adopters among US Hospitals: observational study

ObjectiveTo examine how hospitals that volunteered to be under financial incentives for more than a decade as part of the Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (early adopters) compared with similar...

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Performance: Do Organizational and Market Characteristics Matter?

The hospital value-based purchasing (HVBP) program of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services challenges hospitals to deliver high-quality care or face a reduction in Medicare payments. How do different organizational structures and market characteristics enable or inhibit successful transition to this new model of value-based care? To address that question, this study employs an institutional theory lens to test whether certain organizational structures and market characteristics mediate hospitals' ability to perform across HVBP domains.Data from the 2014 American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database, Area Health Resource File, the Medicare Hospital Compare Database, and the association between external environment and hospital performance are assessed through multiple regression analysis. Results indicate that hospitals that belong to a system are more likely than independent hospitals to score highly on the domains associated with the HVBP incentive arrangement. However, varying and sometimes counterintuitive market influences bring different dimensions to the HVBP program. A hospital's ability to score well in this new value arrangement may be heavily based on the organization's ability to learn from others, implement change, and apply the appropriate amount of control in various markets.

Dually Enrolled Beneficiaries Have Higher Episode Costs On The Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary Measure.

Cost measures are a growing part of Medicare's value-based payment programs. Medicare Spending per Beneficiary (MSPB) is the cost measure included in Medicare's Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. Beneficiaries who are dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid are known to have higher spending on care, but it is unknown whether spending on the MSPB measure varies based on dual enrollment and whether this has implications for the performance of safety-net hospitals. We found that after adjustment for comorbidities, dually enrolled beneficiaries had 4.3percent higher spending, which was primarily driven by higher costs in the postacute setting associated with use of institutional postacute care. Hospitals in the highest quintile of the disproportionate share hospital index had poorer performance on the MSPB measure, and were more likely to be penalized under VBP. After adjustment for dual status, differences in MSPB performance between safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals were no longer significant. This suggests that differences in performance between the two types of hospitals were driven at least in part by differences in their patient populations. However, overall VBP payment impacts were largely unchanged after the MSPB measure was adjusted for dual-enrollment status.

Daily review of AHRQ patient safety indicators has important impact on value-based purchasing, reimbursement, and performance scores

BackgroundThe Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) Composite (PSI 90) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has been found to have low positive predictive values. Because scores can affect hospital reimbursement and ranking, our institution designed a review process to ensure accurate data and incur minimal penalties under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. MethodsA multidisciplinary team was assembled to review PSI 90 within a performance period. The positive predictive value of each PSI was calculated. Weight-adjusted PSI rates were used to recalculate the PSI 90 Performance Period Index Value (PPIV). The adjusted PPIV was used to estimate what the achievement points and financial impact would have been if PSI review had not been implemented. Differences in PPIV, achievement points, and financial impact before and after PSI review were calculated. ResultsA total of 1,470 cases were flagged for PSI over a 2-year period. The positive predictive value was 63.3%. Refuting 36.7% of PSIs resulted in a decrease in the PPIV from 0.696 to 0.508, an increase in achievement points from 5 to 10, resulting in a decreased net loss of $111,773. ConclusionMultidisciplinary review processes are practical and effective in identifying false-positive patient safety events. The real-time process affects hospital performance and resultant Medicare reimbursement substantially.

HCAHPS survey to measure pain communication, not management.

Starting with patients discharged on January 1, hospitals and vendors administering the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey will ask 3 questions concerning communication about pain during the hospital stay. The 3 questions replace the ones about pain management that have appeared in the survey for the past several years. Items 12, 13, and 14 on the 2018 version of the survey ask recently discharged adults to answer the following questions: These changes stem from a decision announced a year ago by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove the survey’s pain management measures from the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. The 6-year-old CMS program links an acute care hospital’s performance on a set of quality measures to a portion of the agency’s Medicare reimbursements under the inpatient prospective payment system. A low-scoring hospital can have up to 2% of reimbursements withheld, while a top scorer can receive the equivalent of a 2% bonus. One fourth of a hospital’s total performance score comes from HCAHPS survey data. The survey’s pain management measures had been part of the program since its beginning. CMS indicated that some stakeholders have expressed concern that with inclusion of those measures on the survey, a hospital’s staff could feel pressured to prescribe more opioids so that the hospital would receive higher HCAHPS scores for pain management.

Association Between Medicare's Mandatory Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program and Cost Inefficiency.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act instituted pay-for-performance programs, including Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP), designed to encourage hospital quality and efficiency. While these programs have been evaluated with respect to their implications for care quality and financial viability, this is the first study to assess the relationship between hospitals' cost inefficiency and their participation in the programs. We estimate a translog specification of a stochastic cost frontier with controls for participation in the HVBP program and clinical and outcome quality for California hospitals for 2012-2015. The program-participation indicators' parameters imply that participants were more cost inefficient than their peers. Further, the estimated coefficients for summary process of care quality indexes for three health conditions (acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and heart failure) suggest that higher quality scores are associated with increased operating costs. The estimated coefficients for the outcome quality variables suggest that future determination of HVBP payment adjustments, which will depend solely on mortality rates as measures of clinical care quality, may not only be aligned with increasing healthcare quality but also reducing healthcare costs.

Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Scores Do Not Predict Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty

BackgroundWith the establishment of the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score has been incorporated into the calculation of the total performance score, which determines redistribution of up to 2% of Medicare payments. This study aims to assess whether the HCAHPS score correlates with validated outcome measures after total hip arthroplasty. MethodsData from 63 patients who underwent a total hip arthroplasty and completed both an HCAHPS score and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at our institution during the study period from January 1, 2015 to September 2016 were analyzed. The HCAHPS overall hospital rating scores were correlated with the preoperative to postoperative change in validated PROMs, namely EuroQol-EQ-5D Instrument and Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score. ResultsThere was no statistically significant correlation between the HCAHPS overall hospital rating score and PROMs. ConclusionThis study shows a lack of correlation between established validated PROMs used in orthopedic surgery, and the HCAHPS survey scores, an important determinant of compensation in the pay-for-performance reimbursement models.

Messy but Fair: The ACA's Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program and the Notice-and-Comment Process

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) promulgated a new Medicare program called the Value-Based Purchasing Program (VBPP) as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). Like many other regulatory agencies, CMS used the Notice-and-Comment process to issue proposed rules, solicit public comments, and then publish final rules. Conventional literature suggests that CMS should disproportionately favor business interests during the Notice-and-Comment process, mainly due to the business interests' greater resources and capacity to draft well-reasoned comments. However, this article argues against this presumption and contends instead that CMS listens equally well to both business interest comments and private citizen comments during the formation of the VBPP. With regard to the VBPP and the ACA, CMS appears to be resisting disproportionate sway by business interests and is instead privileging the ACA's goal of improving healthcare quality.

76 - A Comparison of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Survey Scores Between Lumbar Decompression and Lumbar Fusion Surgery Patients

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey has made patient experience a key driver of quality and reimbursement for hospital systems and spine surgeons nationwide. The HCAHPS survey is administered to a random sample of recently discharged adult patients across all medical specialties. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) use HCAHPS data to 1) calculate value-based incentive payments in the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program and 2) publicly report on the patient experiences of participating hospitals on the Hospital Compare website. In the setting of spine surgery, lumbar fusion surgery is associated with increased risk of major complications and higher utilization of resources when compared to lumbar decompression surgery. However, differences in patient experience scores between these two types of surgeries are not known.

Optimizing the Use of Discharge Medication Lists in Nursing Facilities

OBJECTIVE: To highlight the need to optimize the use of discharge medication lists in nursing facilities. SETTING: In January 2014, the care transitions (CT) pharmacists at Frederick Memorial Hospital, Frederick, Maryland, began a pilot project in which they identified and followed high-risk patients transitioning from hospital to nursing facility and from nursing facility to home. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: This pilot project served as a needs assessment to identify opportunities to improve patients' transition from nursing facility to home with the goal of reducing hospital readmissions. PRACTICE INNOVATION: One of the enormous opportunities that were immediately recognized was the nursing facility discharge medication list. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The CT pharmacists found that patients had difficulty deciphering and understanding the medication lists. RESULTS: By reviewing the elements of existing medication lists, the CT pharmacists identified 11 components of a nursing facility discharge medication list that would increase patient safety and potentially reduce medication-related hospital readmissions. These elements include the capability of electronically generating a medication list that includes both brand and generic medication names with accurate indications in layperson terms. The ideal discharge medication list would also be patient-specific and remove irrelevant information and take into consideration patients' age, vision, and health literacy. CONCLUSION: With the upcoming implementation of the nursing facility value-based purchasing program, nursing facilities may soon receive incentives to improve their medication management systems at discharge.

Age Differences in Hospital Mortality for Acute Myocardial Infarction: Implications for Hospital Profiling.

Publicly reported hospital risk-standardized mortality rates (RSMRs) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are calculated for Medicare beneficiaries. Outcomes for older patients with AMI may not reflect general outcomes. To examine the relationship between hospital 30-day RSMRs for older patients (aged ≥65 years) and those for younger patients (aged 18 to 64 years) and all patients (aged ≥18 years) with AMI. Retrospective cohort study. 986 hospitals in the ACTION (Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network) Registry-Get With the Guidelines. Adults hospitalized for AMI from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2014. Hospital 30-day RSMRs were calculated for older, younger, and all patients using an electronic health record measure of AMI mortality endorsed by the National Quality Forum. Hospitals were ranked by their 30-day RSMRs for these 3 age groups, and agreement in rankings was plotted. The correlation in hospital AMI achievement scores for each age group was also calculated using the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) Program method computed with the electronic health record measure. 267763 and 276031 AMI hospitalizations among older and younger patients, respectively, were identified. Median hospital 30-day RSMRs were 9.4%, 3.0%, and 6.2% for older, younger, and all patients, respectively. Most top- and bottom-performing hospitals for older patients were neither top nor bottom performers for younger patients. In contrast, most top and bottom performers for older patients were also top and bottom performers for all patients. Similarly, HVBP achievement scores for older patients correlated weakly with those for younger patients (R= 0.30) and strongly with those for all patients (R= 0.92). Minority of U.S. hospitals. Hospital mortality rankings for older patients with AMI inconsistently reflect rankings for younger patients. Incorporation of younger patients into assessment of hospital outcomes would permit further examination of the presence and effect of age-related quality differences. American College of Cardiology.

Does value-based purchasing affect US hospital utilization pattern: A comparative study

ABSTRACTWe evaluated the effect US hospital performance as measured by the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing (HVBP) program has on the volume of hospitals inpatient and outpatient services. We analyzed data from the 2013 to 2014 American Hospital Association database, HVBP total performance scores database through Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the area health resources files database through CMS. This study utilized a multinomial logistic regression and transaction cost economic theory, adjusting for the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index, number of facility beds, beds per thousand, individuals 65+, teaching status, location, ownership, and system affiliation. The prominent study findings indicate a significant relationship between percent utilization of inpatient, outpatient and HVBP score. Furthermore, environmental factors such as the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index, and system participation were found to significantly impact hospitals ratio of inpatient to outpatient. Relative risk ratios show that hospitals with overall lower HVB are more likely to be in the top 25 percentile for outpatient services. With the decline in inpatient volume of services and the rise in outpatient utilization, inpatient metrics will continue to be relevant as key indicators of quality of care. Inpatient services will never become irrelevant to the overall financial profile of hospital performance.

Nurse communication's effect on CMS Star Ratings.

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 was the catalyst for a drastic shift in healthcare that included restructuring hospital reimbursements. Under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began rewarding hospitals based on the quality of care, the

Moneyball in Medicare

US policymakers place high priority on tying Medicare payments to the value of care delivered. A critical part of this effort is the Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program (HVBP), which rewards or penalizes hospitals based on their quality and episode-based costs of care and incentivizes integration between hospitals and post-acute care providers. Within HVBP, each patient affects hospital performance on a variety of quality and spending measures, and performance translates directly to changes in program points and ultimately dollars. In short, hospital revenue from a patient consists not only of the DRG payment, but also of that patient’s marginal future reimbursement. We estimate the magnitude of the marginal future reimbursement for individual patients across each type of quality and performance measure. We describe how those incentives differ across hospitals, including integrated and safety-net hospitals. We find evidence that hospitals improved their performance over time in the areas where they have the highest marginal incentives to improve care, and that integrated hospitals responded more than non-integrated hospitals.