Yesterday, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) proposed legislation that would expand bundled payments within the Medicare program.
The Comprehensive Care Payment Innovation Act would establish a voluntary bundled payment model, building off the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative, which is currently in effect. CMS has piloted BPCI and other bundled payment programs during the past 25 years.
The new program would go into effect Jan. 1, 2015. Under the proposed legislation, hospitals and other providers would receive a lump payment from Medicare for all services furnished from three days prior to an inpatient admission to 90 days after discharge. Covered services include acute inpatient care, physician services, outpatient hospital services and post-acute care such as home health and skilled nursing.
Providers could choose the bundled payment program from six conditions: hip/knee joint replacements, lumbar spine fusion, coronary artery bypass graft, heart valve replacement, angioplasty with a stent and colon resection.
The bundled payments would also be tied to quality measures, such as mortality, patient outcomes and avoidable readmissions.
Rep. Black, a nurse by training, and Rep. Neal said the bill would both save money for Medicare and improve patient outcomes.
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