- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Study Finds Success of PCMHs in Outpatient Settings, But Data Gaps Remain
The study, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found that patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) saw slower growth in emergency department (ED) visits and lower payment per beneficiary. However, only 32% of PCMHs agreed to share their data, and those medical homes treated "healthier patients" who may have been less likely to need ED visits, the authors acknowledge.
Medicare patients being treated in patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) had fewer
emergency department (
ED) visits than patients not cared for in a PCMH, according to a recent study of primary care practices, federally qualified health centers, and Medicare fee-for-service data.
In 2009 and 2010, Medicare patients from National Committee for Quality Assurance-recognized PCMHs experienced slower growth in both all-cause and ambulatory-care-sensitive condition ED visits per 100 beneficiaries than those from non-PCMH practices. "The rate of growth in all-cause and ambulatory-care-sensitive condition ED visits per 100 beneficiaries was 13 and 8 visits fewer for 2009 patient-centered medical homes and 12 and 7 visits fewer for 2010 PCMHs, respectively," reported Jesse M. Pines, MD, MBA, departments of emergency medicine and health policy at George Washington University in Washington D.C., and colleagues.
Link to the article on Medpage Today:
Prices for care at hospital trauma centers vary across hospitals; drug shortages reached a record high during the first quarter of 2024; although 3 of the biggest makers of asthma inhalers pledged to cap out-of-pocket costs for some US patients at $35, these do not apply to daily inhalers used by the youngest kids with asthma.
Read More
Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
Listen
The Biden administration recently launched the Global Health Security Strategy, a new effort to combat the spread of infectious diseases; lawmakers zeroed in on the risks of massive consolidation in health care during the first congressional hearing on the Change Healthcare hack; the FDA recently announced the recall of a pair of heart devices linked to numerous deaths and injuries.
Read More
Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
Listen
