Non-Medical Home Care Could Save At Least $4B in Medicare Costs

Non-medical home care benefits that address the social determinants of health of older adults could curb Medicare spending. That’s according to findings from a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which suggests more than $4 billion in Medicare costs are due to the lack of non-medical support for older adults, specifically those with disabilities. 

MA patients Readmission Rates Higher Than Traditional Medicare, Study Finds

Between 2011 and 2014, readmission rates were higher for patients in Medicare Advantage than for their peers in traditional Medicare plans, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds. Hospital readmissions cost Medicare $26 billion annually, and hospitals, physicians and payers such as the Medicare program are trying to bring readmission rates down.

Leveraging Medicaid To Combat The Opioid Epidemic

The Technical Assistance Collaborative and its partners reviewed state strategies that increased the number of providers delivering medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services and, more importantly, the number of individuals receiving MAT. In our new report, we describe how several state Medicaid agencies transformed their treatment systems by focusing on quality and accessibility.

Existing and Emerging Technologies to Advance Value-Based Care

Value-based care requires an unprecedented amount of health data exchange and analytics, and many providers are hesitant to adopt these new forms of care delivery and reimbursement because of internal or external technical limitations, primarily interoperability.

Social Determinants Strongly Linked to Onset of Chronic Disease

Individuals’ social determinants of health, including education level, income, diet, and exercise, were strongly associated with the development of a chronic disease, suggesting that providers should assess these factors to identify high-risk patients, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.