CMS announces long-term care providers participating in bundled payments initiative
CMS announces long-term care providers participating in bundled payments initiative
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified more than 500 healthcare centers, including many skilled nursing facilities, that will be a part of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative (BPCI).
Created as part of the Affordable Care Act, the BPCI will test four models of bundled payments. The initiative is part of an effort to improve outcomes and reduce costs by coordinating care among hospitals, physicians, nursing homes and other post-acute care providers.
Model 1 involves bundled payments for acute care hospitals and could begin in April, CMS said in its statement Thursday. The announcement also marked the start of Phase 1 for the other three BPCI models. Participants in models 2, 3 and 4 will start to receive information from CMS and work together in preparation for Phase 2, which will involve actual payments and could begin in July.
Nursing homes and other long-term care operators are involved most directly in models 2 and 3. Model 2 bundles payments for a medical event that begins at a hospital and subsequently includes post-acute care. Model 3 bundles payments for post-acute care only. CMS selected more than 165 operators to take part in Model 3, including facilities operated by Golden Living and HCR ManorCare.
