Medicare – Molly, mph to md

Improving Quality of Care for End-Stage Renal Disease

December 12, 2019January 3, 2020by Molly BenoitLeave a Comment

I spent this rainy morning shadowing a pediatric nephrologist, the specialists for kidney function in kids. The number of conditions they see is vast, but each has a unique course and some can progress to renal failure, even with medical intervention.

Chronic renal failure is the result of slowly progressive kidney diseases (and it not often reversible). 1 in 3 American adults is at risk for kidney disease — the two main causes of CKD in the adult population are diabetes and high blood pressure. In kids, CKD is often associated with inherited disorders, malformations present at birth, and autoimmune diseases, to name just a few.

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Health policy, Medicare

Reductions in Medicare Hospital Readmissions: Real or Illusory?

January 8, 2019February 18, 2019by Molly BenoitLeave a Comment

Source: **Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg**

Hospital readmissions pose serious risks to patients, especially to Medicare patients who are older and typically sicker than other patients. Hospital stays increase the risk of infection and medication error, put patients through physical and psychological stress (i.e. being woken up multiple times a night, falls on the way to the bathroom), and increase Medicare expenditures. Under the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) created by the Affordable Care Act, hospitals are penalized by Medicare if beneficiaries are readmitted (to any hospital) within 30 days of discharge. The goals of the HRRP are to:

Improve care transitions
Reduce the burden of readmission for Medicare beneficiaries
Reduce the cost of readmissions to the taxpayer

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Medical school, Medicare

Makin’ Money: How Residents Are Paid

August 15, 2018February 18, 2019by Molly BenoitLeave a Comment

So you’re in medical school. And eventually you’ll be a resident. And then you’ll have to start paying back all those loans–the median debt level for medical school graduates is close to $200,000. But while you might make anywhere from $200,000 to more than $500,000 once you’re out of residency, your average salary while completing residency will be in the neighborhood of $51,000.

How is that salary determined? And why, if adjusted for inflation, has residency compensation not increased in four decades? The number of residency positions [and by extension residency salaries] is constrained by the 1997 Balanced Budget Act (BBA) which sets the level of Medicare financing for training residents at teaching hospitals. If the number of allopathic or osteopathic residents at a teaching hospital exceeds the cap set by the BBA, teaching hospitals will not receive additional funding, which come from two sources: Medicare indirect medical education (IME) and direct graduate medical education (DGME) reimbursement. Between IME and DGME payments, Medicare finances 90%–around $10 billion–of the funds teaching hospitals use to train and pay residents. A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the two types of reimbursement are not equal–$3 billion are DGME payments and $7 billion are IME payments.

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Health policy, Medicare

A Tale of Medicare Payment Models: From Volume to Value

August 8, 2018February 18, 2019by Molly BenoitLeave a Comment

Yes, it costs a lot of money to become a doctor. And yes, you will likely get paid a lot of money once you are a doctor. So it was surprising that a recent survey of internal medicine providers found that nearly two-thirds of respondents lacked familiarity with MACRA, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which fundamentally alters how doctors are paid for caring for Medicare beneficiaries.

In 2017, Medicare spending accounted for 15 percent of all federal spending and is projected to increase to 18 percent by 2028. Medicare benefits payments cost $702 billion in 2017 (up from $425 billion in 2007). Add in our aging population (by 2035, there will be more Americans older than 65 than kids under 18) and costly medical advancements that can sustain and prolong life, and we’re looking at a serious problem. [The solvency of the Medicare trust fund is a hot issue on the Hill.]In one attempt to rein in Medicare spending, MACRA shifts a growing percentage of physician payment from a volume-based model to a value-based model. MACRA has four main provisions: (1) repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which determined Medicare Part B reimbursement rates; (2) change how Medicare rewards providers for value over volume; (3) streamline various quality programs under the Merit-based incentive program (MIPS); and (4) give bonus payments for participation in eligible alternative payment models (APM).

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Health policy, Medicare

Impact of Proposed Medicare Payment Changes on Chronic Care Management

August 1, 2018February 18, 2019by Molly BenoitLeave a Comment

In 2015, Medicare beneficiaries (65 and older) accounted for only 15% of the population but 34% of annual healthcare expenditures. Medicare spending steadily increases as beneficiaries age, in part due to the management of multiple chronic conditions (MCC) that require primary and specialist care, medication, and/or hospitalization, among other health expenses. MCC, or comorbidities, affect nearly one in four Americans. Chronic conditions include physical conditions (i.e. arthritis, cancer, hypertension, high cholesterol) and mental/cognitive conditions (i.e. dementia, depression, substance abuse) that last longer than one year and require continual medical attention and/or impact daily activities. According to a recent RAND report, 81% of those over 65 have MCC, including nearly two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries.

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Affordable Care Act, Medicare

The ACA & Medicare

June 8, 2018February 18, 2019by Molly Benoit1 Comment

Medicare provides health insurance to nearly 57 million individuals (17% of the U.S. population) in three categories: those who are over the age of 65; those under 65 who receive social security disability insurance; and those under 65 with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). As described by the Commonwealth Fund’s Medicare at 50 Years series, Medicare beneficiaries are “the nation’s oldest, sickest, and most disabled citizens.” In 2013, 30% of Medicare beneficiaries were either over 85 or disabled and under 65. Seventy-five percent of beneficiaries have one or more chronic condition and 25% rate their health status as fair or poor.

Before the Medicare program, 48% of adults over the age of 65 did not have health insurance; that figure has fallen to 2%. The intentions of the Medicare program were and are two-fold: (1) ensure that beneficiaries have access to health care; and (2) protect beneficiaries from health care-related financial hardship. By the numbers, Medicare has been an immense success. Only 13% of older Americans now pay out of pocket for their health care costs (versus 56% in 1966). Medicare has also increased life expectancy at 65 by five years.

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