Hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients were less likely to qualify for financial rewards in the first year of Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model, according to a study reported this week in Health Affairs. “Continuation of this trend into subsequent years will place these hospitals at higher risk of CJR penalties,” the authors said. “Strategies that address the added complexity of patients treated in safety-net hospitals are necessary to reduce the disadvantage of safety-net hospitals and the vulnerable patients they serve.” For example, they said CMS could consider “adjusting for sociodemographic risk in CJR performance metrics to give safety-net hospitals more credit for the clinical and social profiles of their patients.”
 

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 expressed support for the Ensuring Access to Essential Providers Act, legislation that would require Medicare Advantage plans to cover…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 urged Aetna to rescind its recently announced “level of severity inpatient payment” policy, saying that it “could erode the transparency…
Perspective
Public
Every health care provider strives to deliver their patients the best possible care, but not all providers offer the same level or complexity of care. Current…
Headline
A JAMA internal medicine study published Sept. 8 found that since the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have been experiencing longer…
Headline
A Health Affairs study published Sept. 2 found that less than 40% of Medicare beneficiaries with opioid use disorder received standard care in alignment with…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 3 released a study conducted by KNG Health Consulting that found Medicare patients who receive care in a hospital outpatient department are more…