Health Information Management

Bundled payment plan aims to improve care, lower costs

HIM Connection, January 17, 2012

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM Connection!

Hospitals have long lamented the difficulty of obtaining physician buy-in for various quality improvement initiatives.

Familiar examples include reducing readmissions, reducing infections and complications, and improving overall patient care. Incentives-particularly financial ones-simply don't exist for physicians. The current Medicare system pays physicians, hospitals, and other providers in the healthcare delivery system separately for services they provide, including services provided during a single episode of care.

However, the new Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative created by CMS' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation may change this. The Center is tasked with finding new and better ways to provide and pay for healthcare aimed at a growing population of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Many private payers are already implementing bundled payments, Valinda Rutledge, MBA, director of the patient care models group at the CMS Innovation Center, said during an October 19 CMS webinar. More than 200 participants joined the call, during which several presenters discussed the benefits of bundling payments.

Editor’s note: Read the entire article in the January issue of Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies.



Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM Connection!

  • Briefings on APCs

    Worried about the complexities of the new rules under OPPS and APCs? Briefings on APCs helps you understand the new rules...

  • Medical Records Briefing

    Guiding Health Information Management professionals through the continuously changing field of medical records and toward a...

  • Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies

    Submitting improper Medicare documentaion can lead to denial of fees, payback, fines, and increased diligence from payers...

  • Briefings on HIPAA

    How can you minimize the impact of HIPAA? Subscribe to Briefings on HIPAA, your health information management resource for...

  • ICD-10 Trainer

    ICD-10 Trainer is a bi-weekly e-newsletter with the latest tips from the experts about how to get ready for the new coding...

Most Popular

Related Articles