New Medicare and Medicaid Study Results Reported from A. Dobson et al (Economic Value of Prosthetic Services Among Medicare Beneficiaries: A…

New Medicare and Medicaid Study Results Reported from A. Dobson et al (Economic Value of Prosthetic Services Among Medicare Beneficiaries: A Claims-Based Retrospective Cohort Study)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Current study results on Medicare and Medicaid have been published. According to news reporting originating in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "There are few studies of the economic impact or value of lower extremity prosthetic services. Results from this study can inform the value proposition concerning prosthetic services within military health, where over 40,000 Veterans with limb-loss receive care for their amputations through the Veterans Administration health care system."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research, "To determine the extent to which Medicare patients who received selected prosthetic services had less health care utilization, lower Medicare payments, and/or fewer negative outcomes compared to matched patients not receiving these services. This retrospective cohort analysis using Medicare claims data (2007-2010) and propensity score matching techniques to control for observable selection bias based on etiological diagnosis, comorbidities, patient characteristics, and historical health care utilization one year before the etiological diagnosis. Patients who received lower extremity prostheses had comparable Medicare episode payments ($6,099 per-member-per-month for study group, $6,015 per-member-per-month for comparison group) and better outcomes than patients who did not receive prostheses. Study group patients were more likely to receive extensive outpatient therapy than comparison group patients (p < 0.05)."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Receiving physical therapy is associated with fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and less facility-based care (p < 0.05), essentially offsetting the cost of the prosthetic over a 12-month time frame."

For more information on this research see: Economic Value of Prosthetic Services Among Medicare Beneficiaries: A Claims-Based Retrospective Cohort Study. Military Medicine, 2016;181():18-24. Military Medicine can be contacted at: Assoc Military Surg Us, 9320 Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A. Dobson, hMetrix, 150 Monument RdSuite 107, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004, United States. Additional authors for this research include A. El-Gamil, M. Shimer and J.E. DaVanzo.

Keywords for this news article include: Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America, Medicare and Medicaid, Health Policy, Medicare.

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