Doctors, Patients, Hospitals and Insurers Voice Support for Care Coordination
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U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell hosted a roundtable discussion at Brooks Rehabilitation on July 26th to address the Obama Administration’s ongoing work to deliver better healthcare at a lower cost.
The event followed a recent proposal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand bundled payment models to include heart attack, bypass, and additional orthopedic injuries.
Brooks was an early participant in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. The program, which was called CompleteCare, set about redesigning how patients receive care and improving coordination across various health services. This improved coordination helps reduce patient complications, prevents hospital readmissions, and speeds recovery.
“With the Affordable Care Act, we not only took important steps forward in helping more Americans than ever afford quality health insurance but also gained new tools to build a health care system that works better for everyone,” said Secretary Burwell. “Bundled payments are helping us transform our health care system by creating innovative care delivery models that support hospitals, doctors, and other providers in their efforts to deliver better care at a lower cost.”
These new models are part of broader efforts to improve patient care and reduce costs. Alternative payment models, such as bundled payments, hold doctors and hospitals accountable. As of January 2016, an estimated 30 percent of traditional Medicare payments flowed through alternative payment models. The Administration has set the goal of tying 50 percent of Medicare payments to alternative payment models by the end of 2018.
Doctors, healthcare industry CEOs, and patients voiced support for expanding bundled payment opportunities during the discussion.
“Brooks Rehabilitation is excited to be an early adopter of the CMS Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI). Through care redesign and improvements in the coordination of health services, we were able to improve patient outcomes and decrease hospital readmissions while reducing costs by 20 percent,” said Doug Baer, CEO of Brooks Rehabilitation.
Brooks is planning to use what has been learned from these demonstrations as a roadmap for all patients and will continue to work with physicians and acute-care partners to find innovative ways to improve the health of our community.