The results of CMS’ “Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among Nursing Facility Residents” for calendar year 2014, released Wednesday, showed that Medicare expenditures were generally reduced at all seven testing sites, relative to a comparison group. Two sites showed “statistically significant” reductions in expenditures.

Blogger comment:

Two sites out of seven (28.5%) showed “statistically significant” reductions in expenditures.  What about the other (71.5%) sites.  Sounds like a spin to me how about you.

Umm.  Reduction in expenditures but what they don’t tell you are the underlying facts about re-hospitalization.  Another study showed that 40% of the patients discharged to nursing homes early are likely to expire within three days or be readmitted to the ER.  Sure CMS is all about the money but what about the denials of Medicare at hospitals and nursing homes over the last 40 years forcing the providers to count length of stay rather than discharges back home.  While we let CMS run our operations using their twisted priorities and misdirected authority leaving us none to manage the care we become CMS’ factory not a restorative care process.

Don’t you feel we are being pushed towards a bundled payment algorithm to reduce expenditures so CMS can again dictate payments that scalp the providers while accusing us of being the problem.  While using the CMS negative incentive program of reduced reimbursement  rates the beat goes on.

Hallelujah, re-hospitalizations and ER visits are down expenditures are down and premature deaths are up due to the providers not being allowed to innovate and create the path to efficiency and effective cost management using modern standard costing and pricing methods for each episode of care.