Studies from RTI International Have Provided New Data on Medicare and Medicaid (Impact of hospital-acquired conditions on financial liabilities for…

Studies from RTI International Have Provided New Data on Medicare and Medicaid (Impact of hospital-acquired conditions on financial liabilities for Medicare patients)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Investigators publish new report on Medicare and Medicaid. According to news reporting originating from Durham, North Carolina, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) can increase the financial liabilities faced by patients when the HACs require additional treatment both in the hospital and in subsequent health care encounters. This article estimates incremental effects of 6 HACs on Medicare beneficiary financial liabilities."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from RTI International, "Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to examine the differences in beneficiary liability between care episodes with and without HACs. Episodes included the index hospitalization in which the HAC occurred and all inpatient, outpatient, and physician claims within 90 days of index hospital discharge. Medicare fee-for-service patients discharged from a hospital in fiscal year (FY) 2009 or FY 2010 with severe pressure ulcer, fracture, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, vascular catheter-associated infection, surgical site infection, or deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism after certain orthopedic procedures were matched by diagnosis, sex, race, and age to with patients without HACs. Medicare patients were liable for an additional $20.5 million per year across the HAC episodes compared with what they would have owed without the HACs. Beneficiaries with HACs were also more likely to exhaust their Part A days in the index hospitalization. HACs create significant financial burden for Medicare beneficiaries. The incremental financial liabilities are concentrated in the episode of care after the index hospitalization with the HAC."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Policies and programs that reduce HAC incidence will improve Medicare beneficiaries' physical and financial health."

For more information on this research see: Impact of hospital-acquired conditions on financial liabilities for Medicare patients. American Journal of Infection Control, 2016;44(11):1326-1334. American Journal of Infection Control can be contacted at: Mosby-Elsevier, 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710, USA.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting N.M. Coomer, RTI Int, Durham, NC 27709, United States.

Keywords for this news article include: Durham, North Carolina, United States, North and Central America, Medicare and Medicaid, Medicare, Epidemiology, Health Policy, Hospital, RTI International.

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