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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedKannan S, Song Z
Changes in out-of-pocket costs for US hospital admissions between December and January every year.
Out-of-pocket costs for ICU care may be large at the beginning of the year due to high insurance deductibles that reset every year for US patients, and the expensive nature of ICU care. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore cost-sharing changes from December to January for ICU admissions and non -ICU admissions among adults with employer-sponsored insurance. Among aggregate ICU hospitalizations, total cost-sharing averaged $1079 in December and $1871 in January, a 73.4% increase. Among non-ICU hospitalizations, total cost-sharing averaged $1043 in December and $1683 in January, a 61.3% increase. These increases and differences between ICU and non-ICU hospitalizations were greater among patients with high deductible health plans (HDHPs). For patients with HDHPs requiring an ICU stay, cost-sharing averaged $3093 per hospitalization in January vs $1301 in December.
AHRQ-funded; HS024072.
Citation: Kannan S, Song Z .
Changes in out-of-pocket costs for US hospital admissions between December and January every year.
JAMA Health Forum 2023 May 5; 4(5):e230784. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.0784..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Bourne DS, Davis BS, Gigli KH
Economic analysis of mandated protocolized sepsis care in New York hospitals.
Investigators evaluated the effects of the 2013 New York State sepsis regulations on the costs of care for patients hospitalized with sepsis. They found that mandated protocolized sepsis care was not associated with significant changes in hospital costs in patients hospitalized with sepsis in New York State.
AHRQ-funded; HS025146.
Citation: Bourne DS, Davis BS, Gigli KH .
Economic analysis of mandated protocolized sepsis care in New York hospitals.
Crit Care Med 2020 Oct;48(10):1411-18. doi: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000004514..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Sepsis, Healthcare Costs, Hospitalization, Hospitals
Carey K, Dor A
Hospital response to CMS public reports of hospital charge information.
This study examined trends in charge increases for Medicare inpatients treated in approximately 3400 hospitals after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began reporting charges online in 2013 for Medicare inpatients. The investigators applied difference-in-differences analysis to comprehensive inpatient charge data from New York and Florida for the years 2011-2016. After public reporting was implemented the growth in reported charges in New York hospitals was 4-9% lower than unreported diagnosis-related groups and in Florida it was 2-8% lower.
AHRQ-funded; HS025074.
Citation: Carey K, Dor A .
Hospital response to CMS public reports of hospital charge information.
Med Care 2020 Jan;58(1):70-73. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001232..
Keywords: Hospitals, Healthcare Costs, Public Reporting, Medicare, Hospitalization
Beck J, Wignall J, Jacob-Files E
Parent attitudes and preferences for discussing health care costs in the inpatient setting.
This study examined parent attitudes towards discussing their child’s health care costs in an inpatient setting with health care providers and others. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 42 parents of children who received care at a tertiary academic children’s hospital with and without chronic disease. Two domains for discussion were identified: factors that influence the parent’s desire to discuss health care costs in the inpatient setting and parent preference regarding the execution of cost discussions. Most parents highlighted concerns regarding physician involvement and felt that it was better explored with a financial counselor or social worker. They also felt that the discussions should be optional.
AHRQ-funded; HS024299.
Citation: Beck J, Wignall J, Jacob-Files E .
Parent attitudes and preferences for discussing health care costs in the inpatient setting.
Pediatrics 2019 Aug;144(2). doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-4029..
Keywords: Caregiving, Children/Adolescents, Healthcare Costs, Inpatient Care, Hospitalization, Hospitals
Makam AN, Nguyen OK, Kirby B
Effect of site-neutral payment policy on long-term acute care hospital use.
The purpose of this study was to assess the projected effect of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services new site-neutral payment policy, which aims to decrease unnecessary long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) admissions by reducing reimbursements for less-ill individuals by 2020. The investigators concluded that the site-neutral payment policy may limit LTACH access in existing LTAC-scarce markets, with potential adverse implications for recovery of hospitalized older adults.
AHRQ-funded; HS022418.
Citation: Makam AN, Nguyen OK, Kirby B .
Effect of site-neutral payment policy on long-term acute care hospital use.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2018 Nov;66(11):2104-11. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15539..
Keywords: Policy, Hospitalization, Payment, Long-Term Care, Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Elderly, Hospitals
Adrion ER, Kocher KE, Nallamothu BK
Rising use of observation care among the commercially insured may lead to total and out-of-pocket cost savings.
Using multipayer commercial claims for the period 2009-13, the investigators evaluated utilization and spending among patients admitted for six conditions that are commonly managed with either observation care or short-stay hospitalizations. In their study period, the use of observation care increased relative to that of short-stay hospitalizations. In addition, total and out-of-pocket spending were substantially lower for observation care, though both grew rapidly--and at rates much higher than spending in the inpatient setting--over the study period.
AHRQ-funded; HS000053.
Citation: Adrion ER, Kocher KE, Nallamothu BK .
Rising use of observation care among the commercially insured may lead to total and out-of-pocket cost savings.
Health Aff 2017 Dec;36(12):2102-09. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0774..
Keywords: Health Insurance, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Delivery, Healthcare Utilization, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Medicare
Das A, Norton EC, Miller DC
Association of postdischarge spending and performance on new episode-based spending measure.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently added the Medicare Spending per Beneficiary (MSPB) metric to its Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program. The researchers evaluated whether hospital performance was driven by spending before, during, or after hospitalization. They found that compared with low-cost hospitals, high-cost hospitals had significantly higher preadmission and index admission spending, but the largest differences were in postdischarge spending.
AHRQ-funded; HS020671.
Citation: Das A, Norton EC, Miller DC .
Association of postdischarge spending and performance on new episode-based spending measure.
JAMA Intern Med 2016 Jan;176(1):117-9. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.6261.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Hospitals, Provider Performance, Hospitalization, Payment, Hospital Discharge
O'Donnell BE, Schneider KM, Brooks JM
Standardizing Medicare payment information to support examining geographic variation in costs.
This paper describes a method for standardizing claim payments, and demonstrates the difference in actual versus standardized payments by geographic region. It found that without standardization of payments, certain areas of the country are mischaracterized as either high or low healthcare resource-consuming areas.
AHRQ-funded; HS019574; HS019440.
Citation: O'Donnell BE, Schneider KM, Brooks JM .
Standardizing Medicare payment information to support examining geographic variation in costs.
Medicare Medicaid Res Rev 2013 Sep 10;3(3). doi: 10.5600/mmrr.003.03.a06..
Keywords: Medicare, Healthcare Costs, Hospitalization, Hospitals