A study of Medicare provider and claims data found hospitals are choosing to work more closely with skilled nursing facilities that use fewer resources, record shorter lengths of stay, and perform better on quality measures.
Researchers in Minnesota and California identified those characteristics as key for preferred partner status, a sought-after designation for bundled payment relationships.
“To the extent that these networks are becoming more prevalent, these could be potential factors for being selected as a preferred SNF,” said author Peter Huckfeldt, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Minnesota in the Division of Health Policy and Management.
Researchers studied six hospital systems that formed preferred provider networks with SNFs between 2013 and 2016 as part of Medicare ACOs. They found preferred SNFs were more likely to be nonprofit, housed more Medicare-certified beds, and delivered care to a lower proportion of Medicaid enrollees, compared to non-preferred SNFs.
They also noted preferred facilities were more likely to receive five stars on each Nursing Home Compare measure and provide seasonal flu vaccines, were less likely to initiate antipsychotic medications, and spent $2,000 fewer Medicare dollars per post-discharge episode than non-preferred facilities
From the October 2018 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
