National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies Date
Topics
- Ambulatory Care and Surgery (3)
- Behavioral Health (1)
- Children/Adolescents (1)
- Community-Based Practice (1)
- Disparities (1)
- Elderly (1)
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (1)
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) (1)
- Healthcare Costs (16)
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- Patient-Centered Healthcare (2)
- (-) Payment (29)
- Policy (6)
- Practice Patterns (1)
- Primary Care (2)
- Provider Performance (3)
- Quality Improvement (2)
- Quality of Care (6)
- Respiratory Conditions (2)
- Surgery (2)
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 25 of 29 Research Studies DisplayedParekh TM, Bhatt SP, Westfall AO
Implications of DRG classification in a bundled payment initiative for COPD.
The researchers hypothesized that patients included in a the Medicare Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) would have less severe illness and decreased hospital utilization compared with those excluded from the bundled payment initiative. They concluded that the use of DRGs to identify patients with COPD for inclusion in the BPCI initiative led to the exclusion of more than one-third of patients with acute exacerbations.
AHRQ-funded; HS013852.
Citation: Parekh TM, Bhatt SP, Westfall AO .
Implications of DRG classification in a bundled payment initiative for COPD.
Am J Accountable Care 2017 Dec;5(4):12-18.
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Keywords: Respiratory Conditions, Healthcare Costs, Payment
Biener AI, Selden TM
AHRQ Author: Biener AI, Selden TM
Public and private payments for physician office visits.
Using data for 2014-15 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to estimate standardized payments for nonelderly adults' physician office visits by type of insurance, researchers found that adults with public insurance, especially Medicaid, had substantially lower provider payments, out-of-pocket spending, and third-party payments than their peers with employer-sponsored or Marketplace insurance.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Biener AI, Selden TM .
Public and private payments for physician office visits.
Health Aff 2017 Dec;36(12):2160-64. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0749.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Payment, Health Insurance, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
Joyce NR, Huskamp HA, Hadland SE
The alternative quality contract: impact on service use and spending for children with ADHD.
The authors used Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) claims for 2006-2011 to compare youths enrolled in provider organizations participating in the alternative quality contract (AQC) with those not participating. They found that the AQC was associated with small increases in the probability of any outpatient visits and in the probability and number of medication management visits among children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Further, spending did not change, and there was no evidence of reductions in service utilization or spending for children with ADHD in the first three years of AQC implementation.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Joyce NR, Huskamp HA, Hadland SE .
The alternative quality contract: impact on service use and spending for children with ADHD.
Psychiatr Serv 2017 Dec;68(12):1210-12. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201700143.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Payment, Quality of Care, Healthcare Costs
Whaley CM, Guo C, Brown TT
The moral hazard effects of consumer responses to targeted cost-sharing.
This paper examines the effects of the reference pricing program implemented by the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) in 2012. The investigators found that the cost savings from the reference pricing program was about two to three times as large as the reduction from implementing a high-deductible health plan, while the accompanying consumer surplus reduction was much smaller under reference pricing.
AHRQ-funded; HS022098.
Citation: Whaley CM, Guo C, Brown TT .
The moral hazard effects of consumer responses to targeted cost-sharing.
J Health Econ 2017 Dec;56:201-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.09.012..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Health Insurance, Payment
Paddock SM, Damberg CL, Yanagihara D
What role does efficiency play in understanding the relationship between cost and quality in physician organizations?
Previous studies demonstrate overuse of a narrow set of services, suggesting provider inefficiency, but existing studies neither quantify inefficiency more broadly nor assess its variation across physician organizations (POs). This study found that POs had substantial variation in efficiency, producing widely differing levels of quality for the same cost.
AHRQ-funded; HS021860.
Citation: Paddock SM, Damberg CL, Yanagihara D .
What role does efficiency play in understanding the relationship between cost and quality in physician organizations?
Med Care 2017 Dec;55(12):1039-45. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000823.
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Keywords: Practice Patterns, Healthcare Costs, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Payment, Provider Performance
Cotter D, Barrus D, Ma M
Effects of ESRD bundling on efficiency of U.S. dialysis centers.
The study aim was to evaluate whether the 2011 ESRD Prospective Payment System (PPS) improved the efficiency of U.S. dialysis centers and to identify which providers demonstrated changes in their efficiency after the PPS implementation. It found that about 36 percent of facilities were functioning efficiently in 2010, dropping to only 21-22 percent efficiently operating facilities in 2011-12.
AHRQ-funded; HS024190.
Citation: Cotter D, Barrus D, Ma M .
Effects of ESRD bundling on efficiency of U.S. dialysis centers.
Nephrol News Issues 2017 Oct 18.
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Keywords: Kidney Disease and Health, Payment, Ambulatory Care and Surgery
Cottrell EK, Hall JD, Kautz G
Reporting from the front lines: implementing Oregon's alternative payment methodology in federally qualified health centers.
Alternative payment models have been proposed as a way to facilitate patient-centered medical home model implementation, yet little is known about how payment reform translates into changes in care delivery. This study conducted site visits, observed operations, and conducted interviews within 3 Federally Qualified Health Center organizations. They identified several care delivery changes during the early stages of implementation, as well as challenges associated with this new model of payment.
AHRQ-funded; HS022651.
Citation: Cottrell EK, Hall JD, Kautz G .
Reporting from the front lines: implementing Oregon's alternative payment methodology in federally qualified health centers.
J Ambul Care Manage 2017 Oct/Dec;40(4):339-46. doi: 10.1097/jac.0000000000000198..
Keywords: Healthcare Delivery, Payment, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Policy, Primary Care
Jubelt LE, Goldfeld KS, Blecker SB
Early lessons on bundled payment at an academic medical center.
This study was a difference-in-differences study of Medicare fee-for-service patients hospitalized from April 2011 to June 2012 and October 2013 to December 2014 for lower extremity joint arthroplasty, cardiac valve procedures, or spine surgery. It examined total episode costs and costs by service category. It concluded that opportunities for savings under bundled payment may be greater for lower extremity joint arthroplasty than for other conditions.
AHRQ-funded; HS023683.
Citation: Jubelt LE, Goldfeld KS, Blecker SB .
Early lessons on bundled payment at an academic medical center.
J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2017 Sep;25(9):654-63. doi: 10.5435/jaaos-d-16-00626.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Payment, Medicare
Chen LM, Epstein AM, Orav EJ
Association of practice-level social and medical risk with performance in the Medicare physician value-based payment modifier program.
The objective of this cross-sectional observational study was to compare performance in the Physician Value-Based Payment Modifier (PVBM) Program by practice characteristics. The investigators found that during the first year of the Medicare Physician Value-Based Payment Modifier Program, physician practices that served more socially high-risk patients had lower quality and lower costs, and practices that served more medically high-risk patients had lower quality and higher costs.
AHRQ-funded; HS024698.
Citation: Chen LM, Epstein AM, Orav EJ .
Association of practice-level social and medical risk with performance in the Medicare physician value-based payment modifier program.
JAMA 2017 Aug 1;318(5):453-61. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.9643..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Medicaid, Medicare, Payment, Quality of Care
Adams JL, Paddock SM
Misclassification risk of tier-based physician quality performance systems.
The authors estimated misclassification rates for two-category high-quality physician identification systems. They found that current methods for profiling physicians on quality may produce misleading results, and that misclassification is a policy-relevant measure of the potential impact of tiering on providers, payers, and patients. They concluded that quantifying misclassification rates should inform the construction of high-performance networks and quality improvement initiatives.
AHRQ-funded; HS021860.
Citation: Adams JL, Paddock SM .
Misclassification risk of tier-based physician quality performance systems.
Health Serv Res 2017 Aug;52(4):1277-96. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12561.
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Keywords: Provider Performance, Quality of Care, Payment
Berry SD, Zullo AR, McConeghy K
Defining hip fracture with claims data: outpatient and provider claims matter.
Medicare claims are commonly used to identify hip fractures, but there is no universally accepted definition. The authors of this study found that a definition using inpatient claims identified fewer fractures than a definition including outpatient and provider claims. Few additional fractures were identified by including inconsistent diagnostic and procedural codes at contiguous sites. The authors recommend that future studies publish their definition of fracture and specify if diagnostic codes from contiguous fracture sites were used.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Berry SD, Zullo AR, McConeghy K .
Defining hip fracture with claims data: outpatient and provider claims matter.
Osteoporos Int 2017 Jul;28(7):2233-37. doi: 10.1007/s00198-017-4008-1..
Keywords: Elderly, Injuries and Wounds, Payment
Jacobs PD, Molloy E
AHRQ Author: Jacobs PD
How do Medicare Advantage beneficiary payments vary with tenure?
This study compared how premiums and expected out-of-pocket medical costs (OOPC) vary with the length of time Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries have been enrolled in their plans. Beneficiaries who remained in their plans for 6 or more years were paying $786 more than they would have spent in the lowest-cost plan compared with $552 for beneficiaries in their first year of enrollment.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Jacobs PD, Molloy E .
How do Medicare Advantage beneficiary payments vary with tenure?
Am J Manag Care 2017 Jun;23(6):372-77.
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Keywords: Medicare, Payment, Healthcare Costs, Health Insurance
Carey K, Dor A
http://www.healthfinancejournal.com/index.php/johcf/article/view/114
Price variations and their trends in U.S. hospitals.
This study tracked trends in prices paid to hospitals by commercial insurers over the period 2008 to 2014 using private sector claims data that contain actual payments. It contrasted these with trends in the CMS published charges. Results indicated that variation in actual commercially-transacted prices is substantially lower than variation in published charges.
AHRQ-funded; HS023610.
Citation: Carey K, Dor A .
Price variations and their trends in U.S. hospitals.
J Health Care Finance 2017 Sum;44(1).
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Payment, Health Insurance, Hospitals
Schulz J, DeCamp M, Berkowitz SA
Regional cost and experience, not size or hospital inclusion, helps predict ACO success.
This study investigated the extent to which organizational characteristics, regional cost of care, or experience in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) are associated with the ability to achieve shared savings. It found that experience, as measured by years in the MSSP program, was associated with success and the ability to earn shared savings varied regionally. This variation was strongly associated with differences in regional Medicare fee-for-service per capita costs.
AHRQ-funded; HS023684.
Citation: Schulz J, DeCamp M, Berkowitz SA .
Regional cost and experience, not size or hospital inclusion, helps predict ACO success.
Medicine 2017 Jun;96(24):e7209. doi: 10.1097/md.0000000000007209.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Payment
DeMeester RH, Xu LJ, Nocon RS
Solving disparities through payment and delivery system reform: a program to achieve health equity.
In 2013 the Finding Answers: Solving Disparities through Payment and Delivery System Reform program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sought to understand how alternative payment models might intentionally incorporate a disparities-reduction component to promote health equity. A qualitative analysis of forty proposals to the program revealed that applicants generally did not link payment reform tightly to disparities reduction.
AHRQ-funded; HS000084.
Citation: DeMeester RH, Xu LJ, Nocon RS .
Solving disparities through payment and delivery system reform: a program to achieve health equity.
Health Aff 2017 Jun;36(6):1133-39. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0979.
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Keywords: Disparities, Healthcare Delivery, Payment, Policy
Nuckols TK, Fingar KR, Barrett M
AHRQ Author: Steiner CA, Stocks C, Owens PL
The shifting landscape in utilization of inpatient, observation, and emergency department services across payers.
Using data from four states from AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, this study compared the payer-specific population-based rates of adults using inpatient, observation, and emergency department (ED) services for 10 common medical conditions in 2009 and in 2013. Inpatient admissions declined, and care shifted toward treat-and-release observation stays and ED visits. The percentage of hospitalizations that began with an observation stay increased.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Nuckols TK, Fingar KR, Barrett M .
The shifting landscape in utilization of inpatient, observation, and emergency department services across payers.
J Hosp Med 2017 Jun;12(6):443-46. doi: 10.12788/jhm.2751.
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Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Healthcare Utilization, Hospitalization, Payment
Bhatt SP, Wells JM, Iyer AS
Results of a Medicare bundled payments for care improvement initiative for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease readmissions.
This study evaluated whether a comprehensive chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) multidisciplinary intervention focusing on inpatient, transitional, and outpatient care as part of an institution's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) participation would reduce 30-day all-cause readmission rates for COPD exacerbations and reduce overall costs. It concluded that a Medicare BPCI intervention did not reduce 30-day all-cause readmission rates or overall costs after hospitalization for acute exacerbation of COPD.
AHRQ-funded; HS013852.
Citation: Bhatt SP, Wells JM, Iyer AS .
Results of a Medicare bundled payments for care improvement initiative for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease readmissions.
Ann Am Thorac Soc 2017 May;14(5):643-48. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201610-775BC.
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Keywords: Respiratory Conditions, Payment, Hospital Readmissions, Medicare, Quality Improvement
Carey K
Ambulatory surgery centers and prices in hospital outpatient departments.
Specialty providers claim to offer a new competitive benchmark for efficient delivery of health care. This article explores this view by examining evidence for price competition between ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). For the procedures examined, HOPDs received payments from commercial insurers in the range of 3.25 percent to 5.15 percent lower for each additional ASC per 100,000 persons in a market.
AHRQ-funded; HS023780.
Citation: Carey K .
Ambulatory surgery centers and prices in hospital outpatient departments.
Med Care Res Rev 2017 Apr;74(2):236-48. doi: 10.1177/1077558716633010.
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Keywords: Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Healthcare Costs, Payment, Hospitals
Alpert A, Hsi H, Jacobson M
Evaluating the role of payment policy in driving vertical integration in the oncology market.
The researchers documented the increase in vertical integration in the market for cancer care in the period 2003-15, finding that the rate of hospital or health system ownership of practices doubled from about 30 percent to about 60 percent. They concluded that increased consolidation in the market for cancer care rather than being due to changes in Federal payment policies for chemotherapy drugs were instead part of a broader post-ACA trend toward integrated health care systems.
AHRQ-funded; HS022741.
Citation: Alpert A, Hsi H, Jacobson M .
Evaluating the role of payment policy in driving vertical integration in the oncology market.
Health Aff 2017 Apr;36(4):680-88. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0830.
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Keywords: Payment, Policy
Colla CH, Fisher ES
Moving forward with accountable care organizations: some answers, more questions.
The U.S. health care system is moving from traditional fee-for-service payment to value-based alternative payment models, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs).This paper comments on the research presented in the April 2017 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine which provides insights from 3 different ACO payment models.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Colla CH, Fisher ES .
Moving forward with accountable care organizations: some answers, more questions.
JAMA Intern Med 2017 Apr;177(4):527-28. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.9122..
Keywords: Payment, Quality of Care, Medicare
Krinsky S, Ryan AM, Mijanovich T
Variation in payment rates under Medicare's Inpatient Prospective Payment System.
The researchers measured variation in payment rates under Medicare's Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and identified the main payment adjustments that drive variation. In 2013, Medicare paid for acute inpatient discharges at a rate 31 percent above the IPPS base. For the top 10 percent of discharges, the mean rate was double the IPPS base. Variations were driven by adjustments for medical education and care to low-income populations.
AHRQ-funded; HS018546.
Citation: Krinsky S, Ryan AM, Mijanovich T .
Variation in payment rates under Medicare's Inpatient Prospective Payment System.
Health Serv Res 2017 Apr;52(2):676-96. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12490.
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Keywords: Payment, Medicare, Healthcare Costs, Hospitals
Mendelson A, Kondo K, Damberg C
The effects of pay-for-performance programs on health, health care use, and processes of care: a systematic review.
This review updated and expanded a prior review examining the effects of P4P programs targeted at the physician, group, managerial, or institutional level on process-of-care and patient outcomes in ambulatory and inpatient settings. It found that pay-for-performance programs may be associated with improved processes of care in ambulatory settings, but consistently positive associations with improved health outcomes have not been demonstrated in any setting.
AHRQ-funded; HS022981.
Citation: Mendelson A, Kondo K, Damberg C .
The effects of pay-for-performance programs on health, health care use, and processes of care: a systematic review.
Ann Intern Med 2017 Mar 7;166(5):341-53. doi: 10.7326/m16-1881.
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Keywords: Payment, Provider Performance, Healthcare Utilization, Quality of Care
Ouayogode MH, Colla CH, Lewis VA
Determinants of success in shared savings programs: an analysis of ACO and market characteristics.
This study examined Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and market factors associated with superior financial performance in Medicare ACO programs. No characteristic of organizational structure was significantly associated with both outcomes of savings per beneficiary and likelihood of achieving shared savings. ACO prior experience with risk-bearing contracts was positively correlated with savings and significantly increased the likelihood of receiving shared savings payments.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Ouayogode MH, Colla CH, Lewis VA .
Determinants of success in shared savings programs: an analysis of ACO and market characteristics.
Healthc 2017 Mar;5(1-2):53-61. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2016.08.002.
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Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Payment, Policy, Medicare
Erickson KF, Winkelmayer WC, Chertow GM
Hemodialysis hospitalizations and readmissions: the effects of payment reform.
The researchers used a retrospective cohort interrupted time-series study design to examine whether the 2004 nephrologist reimbursement reform led to reduced hospitalizations and rehospitalizations. They found no significant change in all-cause hospitalization or rehospitalization and slight reductions in fluid overload hospitalization and rehospitalization following reimbursement reform.
AHRQ-funded; HS019178.
Citation: Erickson KF, Winkelmayer WC, Chertow GM .
Hemodialysis hospitalizations and readmissions: the effects of payment reform.
Am J Kidney Dis 2017 Feb;69(2):237-46. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2016.08.033.
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Keywords: Hospital Readmissions, Hospitalization, Kidney Disease and Health, Payment, Policy
Nathan H, Dimick JB
Medicare's shift to mandatory alternative payment models: why surgeons should care.
This opinion piece addresses alternative payment models and mandatory payment reforms that will affect many surgical professionals. The authors use the example of the recent implementation of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program, the first mandatory alternative payment model (APM) to guide the discussion.
AHRQ-funded; HS024763.
Citation: Nathan H, Dimick JB .
Medicare's shift to mandatory alternative payment models: why surgeons should care.
JAMA Surg 2017 Feb;152(2):125-26. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2016.4005..
Keywords: Payment, Medicare, Surgery