Cuts to Medicare payments are associated with slower improvements in one-year mortality rates, according to an article published in Medical Care.
Researchers examined the effect through analyzing nationwide cuts to Medicare between 1995 and 2000, which were enacted in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Researchers focused data analysis on payment reductions for five major conditions: heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke, pneumonia and hip fracture.
Hospitals with small and large payment cuts had similar mortality improvement trends before the BBA and directly after the BBA. However, mortality improvement trends diverged in the long term, with hospitals experiencing large cuts showing 0.8 to 1.4 percent slower improvement for one-year mortality rates than hospitals experiencing small cuts.
The study concluded deeper Medicare cuts are associated with slower decreases in mortality rates.
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